This application for a Developing Center on Interventions for the Prevention of Suicide (DCIPS) focuses on the generation of research for developing and evaluating cognitive therapy interventions for suicidal individuals. The overall objective of this Center is to develop, adapt and implement innovative targeted interventions designed to reduce vulnerability factors associated with suicide in high risk populations, and improve community linkages with primary care and mental health/substance abuse health systems for translating evidence-based treatments into """"""""real world"""""""" settings. This Center consists of three sections describing the Operations, Methods Development, and Principal Research Cores. The Operations Core provides the governance of the Center and includes an Executive Committee, three Advisory Boards (Scientific, Data Safety Monitoring and Stakeholders) and the following units: (1) Recruitment and assessment, (2) Case Management, (3) High Risk Management, (4) Intervention, (5) Biostatistics and Data Management, (6) Networking and Dissemination, and (7) Education and Career Development. The Methods Development Core outlines the projects that are designed to support the Principal Research Core. These projects focus on developing, refining, and testing the psychometric properties and cultural sensitivity of assessment instruments used to evaluate factors associated with suicidal behavior, including hopelessness, impulse control and attitudes about aging. Additionally, procedures for evaluating differential research participation of suicidal individuals in emergency room and primary care research will be developed in an effort to increase the generalizabilty of the findings. The Principal Research Core describes two randomized controlled pilot studies designed to obtain preliminary effect sizes for: (1) a targeted cognitive therapy intervention in an addiction treatment program for suicide attempters who have drug dependence disorders and (2) a modified cognitive therapy intervention for suicidal older men in primary care settings. The Center utilizes a multidisciplinary team of investigators and stakeholders to generate and disseminate new treatments for suicidal individuals and translate these findings into practice.
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