Background. This study used a case–control design to examine the association between unemployment and risk of medically serious suicide attempt.

Method. A sample of 302 individuals who made serious suicide attempts was contrasted with 1028 randomly selected community control subjects.

Results. Individuals who made serious suicide attempts reported higher rates of current unemployment (OR=4·2) than control subjects. This association was similar for males and females. However, even before adjustment for confounding factors it was evident that exposure to unemployment made only a small contribution to suicide attempt risk. The population attributable risk for exposure to unemployment was 7·3%. After adjustment for antecedent childhood, family and educational factors the association between unemployment and risk of serious suicide attempt was reduced but remained significant (OR=2·1), suggesting that common antecedent factors made a large contribution to risks of both unemployment and serious suicide attempt. When both antecedent family and childhood factors, and psychiatric morbidity were taken into account, unemployment was not significantly related to risks of serious suicide attempt.

Conclusion. The results of this study provide support for the contention that much of the association between unemployment and suicidal behaviour is non-causal, and reflects common or correlated factors that contribute to risks of both unemployment and suicidal behaviour. Any remaining association between unemployment and suicide attempt risk appears to arise from the correlation that exists between unemployment and psychiatric disorder.

Background. Intrusive memories of stressful events, many involving illness and death, are found in a minority of depressed cancer patients, and may predict the course of anxiety and depression.

Method. Matched samples of mild to moderately depressed and non-depressed cancer patients were followed up after 6 months. Anxiety and depression at follow-up were related to measures of intrusive memories of stressful life events and autobiographical memory functioning that had been assessed at baseline.

Results. Levels of anxiety and depression remained fairly constant over time in the two groups, and the depressed group continued to experience high levels of intrusive memories. The presence of intrusive memories at baseline, and the extent to which these memories were consciously avoided, predicted greater anxiety at follow-up, even after controlling for initial severity of physical and psychiatric symptoms. None of the measures of memory functioning predicted levels of depression at follow-up.

Conclusions. Intrusive memories appear to be a marker of more prolonged psychopathology in cancer patients and may respond to direct therapeutic intervention.

Background. Causal attributions about bodily sensations may determine help-seeking and influence patients' demands for medical treatment. The present study aimed to differentiate the causal attributions associated with health-related and non-health-related anxiety.

Methods. Anxious hypochondriacal, generally anxious, and non-anxious general practice attenders were compared on their propensity to give somatic, psychological or normalizing attributions for common bodily sensations, measured by number of each type of attribution in a given time period and the frequency of first response of each type.

Results. The groups differed in all three types of attributions. Giving more psychological and fewer normalizing attributions was related to general anxiety whereas giving more somatic attributions was related specifically to hypochondriasis.

Conclusions. Anxiety and hypochondriasis can be distinguished in terms of their associated patterns of attributions for bodily sensations, reinforcing the importance of attributional processes and interventions which use reattributional training.

Background. We assessed lateral preference in 80 male patients with combat-related post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and in 100 healthy age-matched male controls.

Methods. Hand, foot, eye and ear preferences were examined, using the Edinburgh Handedness Inventory-Modified and the Coren Inventory of Lateral Preference.

Results. Mixed lateral preference was noted in significantly more PTSD patients than controls (65 v. 43%, P<0·005).

Conclusions. These results indicate a possible hemispheric imbalance (less lateralization) in PTSD patients, with the right hemisphere playing a more active role in perceptual and cognitive processing and in the regulation of biological responses in these patients. This imbalance may be relevant to the pathophysiology of PTSD.

The Theodore and Vada Stanley Foundation, in collaboration with the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill, welcomes applications for the 1998 Stanley Foundation Research Awards Program. The purpose of the awards is to support research directly related to the causes or treatment of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.

The research awards are intended to attract established scientists from other areas of biology and medicine (e.g. biochemistry, immunology, virology and neurology) into research on schizophrenia and bipolar disorder as well as to provide support for innovative research by scientists already in the field whose funding sources are limited. Applicants are invited from all stages of career development.

Awards are for one or two years. They may be up to $75000 a year for studies involving human subjects and up to $50000 a year for other studies. Funds may be used for salaries, supplies and equipment, but it is the policy of the Stanley Foundation not to pay indirect costs for administration of the award. In 1997, 48 applications were funded out of a total of 262 received.

Deadline for receipt of applications is 2 March 1998. The 4-page application consists of a brief outline of the proposed project, a budget, and a list of current and pending sources of funding. Notification of awards is made in June and funding to award recipients begins in August. The research award applications are reviewed by a professional selection committee. Requests for applications and questions should be directed to: Ms Patrice P. De Haven, Research Awards Administrator, Stanley Foundation Research Awards Program, c/o NAMI, 200 North Glebe Road, Suite 1015, Arlington, VA 22203-3754 USA. Telephone: 703-312-7883 – Fax: 703-312-7893. E-mail: Patrice@NAMI.org