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Risk factors, theoretical explanations, and treatment suggestions for suicidal behaviors have historically focused largely on cognitions, but a more comprehensive picture may be provided by examining the role of affect in suicidal thoughts and behaviors. In the current study the link between affect and suicide within the theoretical framework of the circumplex model was examined empirically. Data from 104 participants demonstrated that both positive and negative affect are related to suicidal thoughts and behaviors, and that affect provided additional information about suicidality over and above the cognitive variable of hopelessness. The findings support that suicidal risk assessment may be enhanced by evaluating both hopelessness and affect, and that negative affect, in particular, is important to address in the treatment of suicidal individuals.

We collected data from 149 graduate teaching assistants at a Midwestern university concerning their classroom duties, experiences with TA training and supervision, sense of self-efficacy toward teaching, preference for supervisory style, and feedback on those modes and skill domains in TA training they felt were most effective and best prepared them for academic careers. Results indicated that less than half of this sample of TAs received formal training for their duties and spent only approximately 40 clock hours in training. A majority of the sample indicated that they were receiving on-going supervision of their teaching duties. Findings also suggested that TA training and supervision are helpful in building TA self-efficacy toward teaching. With respect to supervisory style, TAs preferred a collegial style of interaction with their course supervisors. Finally, TAs found workshops or courses on college teaching as the preferred modality for their training, and most favored building skills in organizing their course materials, evaluating student learning, handling multicultural issues, and dealing with ethical issues in teaching. On the basis of our findings, we offer recommendations to university administrators regarding TA training. (Contains 4 tables.)

We collected data from 149 graduate teaching assistants at a Midwestern university concerning their classroom duties, experiences with TA training and supervision, sense of self-efficacy toward teaching, preference for supervisory style, and feedback on those modes and skill domains in TA training they felt were most effective and best prepared them for academic careers. Results indicated that less than half of this sample of TAs received formal training for their duties and spent only approximately 40 clock hours in training. A majority of the sample indicated that they were receiving on-going supervision of their teaching duties. Findings also suggested that TA training and supervision are helpful in building TA self-efficacy toward teaching. With respect to supervisory style, TAs preferred a collegial style of interaction with their course supervisors. Finally, TAs found workshops or courses on college teaching as the preferred modality for their training, and most favored building skills in organizing their course materials, evaluating student learning, handling multicultural issues, and dealing with ethical issues in teaching. On the basis of our findings, we offer recommendations to university administrators regarding TA training. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the resources dedicated to specialised mental healthcare for patients with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) within the US Veterans Health Administration, evidence-based psychotherapies (EBPs) for PTSD have been underutilised, as evidenced by low EBP reach to patients. A research-operation collaboration evaluated whether implementation facilitation delivered by regional PTSD mentors as part of a national mentoring programme improved EBP reach compared with less-intensive quality improvement interventions. We used a non-equivalent comparison-group design that included all PTSD clinics with low EBP reach at baseline (n=51). Clinics were grouped into one of four quality improvement conditions according to self-selection by regional PTSD mentors: facilitation (n=6), learning collaborative (n=15), mentoring as usual in the regions that had facilitation-target clinics (n=15) and mentoring as usual in other regions (n=15). The primary outcome was EBP reach among therapy patients with PTSD at preintervention baseline and postintervention sustainment periods. We used the ratio of odds ratios ( ROR ) between the two time periods to evaluate the effectiveness of facilitation compared with the other conditions, adjusting for patient-level and clinic-level confounders. 26 126 veterans with PTSD received psychotherapy in one of 51 low-reach PTSD clinics during preintervention baseline and postintervention sustainment periods. The odds of a patient receiving an EBP increased over time across conditions. The adjusted ORs of a patient receiving an EBP from baseline to sustainment were 1.35-1.69 times larger in clinics that received facilitation compared with the three comparison conditions (adjusted ROR s of comparison condition versus facilitation ranged from 0.59 (95% CI 0.47 to 0.75) to 0.74 (95% CI 0.58 to 0.94)). Implementation facilitation can be integrated into a national programme for quality improvement for PTSD specialty care and may be particularly useful when less-intensive approaches are not sufficiently effective., Competing Interests: Competing interests: The authors are VHA employees. NAS received VHA research funding. The authors have no other competing interests to declare., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2024. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.)

Risk factors, theoretical explanations, and treatment suggestions for suicidal behaviors have historically focused largely on cognitions, but a more comprehensive picture may be provided by examining the role of affect in suicidal thoughts and behaviors. In the current study the link between affect and suicide within the theoretical framework of the circumplex model was examined empirically. Data from 104 participants demonstrated that both positive and negative affect are related to suicidal thoughts and behaviors, and that affect provided additional information about suicidality over and above the cognitive variable of hopelessness. The findings support that suicidal risk assessment may be enhanced by evaluating both hopelessness and affect, and that negative affect, in particular, is important to address in the treatment of suicidal individuals., (© 2011 The American Association of Suicidology.)