The impact of the 2009 Red River Flood on interpersonal risk factors for suicide.

BACKGROUND: Natural disasters are frequently associated with increases in risk factors for suicide, yet research indicates that suicide rates tend to stay the same or decrease in the wake of disasters (e.g., Krug et al., 1999). AIMS: The present research sought to shed light on this counterintuitive phenomenon by testing hypotheses derived from Joiner's (2005) interpersonal-psychological theory of suicidal behavior, which proposes that the desire to die by suicide is the result of feeling like one does not belong and feeling like one is a burden on others. During natural disasters, community members often pull together in volunteering efforts, and it was predicted that such behaviors would boost feelings of belonging and reduce feelings that one is a burden. METHODS: The present study tested these predictions in a sample of 210 undergraduate students in Fargo, North Dakota, following the 2009 Red River Flood. RESULTS: Consistent with prediction, greater amounts of time spent volunteering in flood efforts were associated with increased feelings of belongingness and decreased feelings of burdensomeness. CONCLUSIONS: The findings in the current study are consistent with the notion that communities pulling together during a natural disaster can reduce interpersonal risk factors associated with the desire for suicide.

The associations between two facets of narcissism and eating disorder symptoms.

The current study sought to examine the relationships between two facets of narcissism (vulnerable and grandiose) and eating disorder symptoms. Based upon previous research (Davis, Claridge, & Cerullo, 1997), it was predicted that the vulnerable narcissism facet would be more strongly associated with eating disorder symptoms because of the tendency for vulnerable narcissists to base their self-worth on their appearance (Zeigler-Hill, Clark, & Picard, 2008). The hypotheses were tested cross-sectionally in a sample of 355 male and female undergraduate students. Results generally conformed to prediction, in that vulnerable narcissism tended to be positively correlated with eating disorder symptoms, and this relationship was partially mediated by self-worth that is contingent upon physical appearance. Our findings are consistent with the notion that vulnerable narcissism is a risk factor for eating disorder symptoms because it is associated with a drive to improve self-worth through the enhancement of physical appearance.