Problem Solving in Depressive Patients with Suicide Attempts

This study was based on a hypothesis suggested by some cognitive theories regarding depressive people having attempted suicide, which holds that because of depressive patients’ difficulties in retrieving autobiographical memory, they are unable to engage in efficient problem solving. This in turn traps them in a vicious circle of depression, inefficient problem solving, and disappointment, which finally leads to suicide. To investigate this hypothesis, the problem- solving approaches of a group of Iranian depressive suicide-patients were studied through Beck Depression Inventory, the Means- End Problem Solving Task, the Semantic Memory Test, and a memory test. Two cognitive scales were used to assess retrieval of autobiographical memory and problem solving approaches. Twenty such patients were compared with 20 healthy subjects who were all matched in terms of sex and age. The results demonstrated that the suicide group provided more irrelevant and limited numbers of solutions as compared to the control group. Moreover, significant correlation was noted between autobiographical memory and problem solving variables.