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Cover -- Title Page -- Copyright -- Contents -- Introduction -- Chapter 1 G = God -- Magical Moments (Jon) -- Persistence Pays Off (Kathryn) -- A Divine Appointment (Jon) -- A Deeper Connection (Kathryn) -- A Triple-Braided Cord (Jon) -- Chapter 2 R = Resolve -- From Fantasy to Reality (Kathryn) -- Issues of the Past (Jon) -- It Takes Two (Kathryn) -- Buying a House (Jon) -- Ain't No Stopping Us (Kathryn) -- Big Decisions (Jon) -- We're Having a Baby (Kathryn) -- A Living Hell (Kathryn) -- Busy, Stressed, and Selfish (Jon) -- Why I Stayed (Kathryn) -- Chasing Success (Jon) -- Making the Move (Jon) -- Whatever It Takes (Kathryn) -- Miracles (Jon) -- I Was Ready to Leave Him (Kathryn) -- The Ultimatum (Jon) -- A Defining Moment (Jon) -- You Have to Be Willing to Change (Jon) -- Chapter 3 I = Invest -- Invest instead of Consume (Jon) -- Don't Keep Score (Kathryn) -- Communicate, Communicate, Communicate (Kathryn) -- The Curse of Expectations (Kathryn) -- Appreciate Your Differences (Jon) -- Shared Vision and Purpose (Kathryn) -- Common Bonds (Kathryn) -- There's No Plan B (Jon) -- All In (Kathryn) -- Choosing Faith (Jon) -- When You Change, the Relationship Changes (Kathryn) -- Hopping on the Energy Bus (Jon) -- Support Instead of Limit (Kathryn) -- Encourage Instead of Compete (Kathryn) -- The 4 Cs (Jon) -- The First C Is Communicate -- The Second C Is Connect -- The Third C Is Commit -- The Fourth C Is Care -- Chapter 4 T = Together -- Going Deeper (Kathryn) -- Invest in the Root If You Want the Fruit (Jon) -- Clearing out the Weeds (Jon) -- The Truth Hurts (Kathryn) -- A Special Prayer (Jon) -- Forgiveness (Kathryn) -- What You Uncover, God Will Cover (Jon) -- A Covenant (Kathryn) -- The 5 Ds (Jon) -- The First D is Distort -- The Second D is Discourage -- The Third D is Doubt -- The Fourth D is Distract -- The Fifth D is Divide.

Background: Historically, people who die by suicide and those who survive them have been perceived more negatively than those affected by other types of death (e.g., Reynolds & Cimbolic, 1988 ). Yet, it is unclear whether these negative perceptions actually lead to decreased social and emotional support for people bereaved by suicide. Aims: To examine whether specifying suicide as the cause of death in an obituary impacts perceptions of a decedent and willingness to provide support to the decedent's family. Method: A group of 253 participants were randomly assigned to read one of three fictional obituaries that were identical except for the stated cause of death (suicide, cancer, or drug overdose). Participants responded to questions about the decedent and behaviors toward the family. Results: Consistent with our prediction, people depicted as dying by suicide were viewed more negatively than decedents depicted as dying due to cancer. Contrary to our prediction, participants endorsed similar levels of willingness to provide support to the bereaved family regardless of the type of death specified in the obituary. Conclusions: The findings suggest that, even though those who die by suicide are viewed more negatively, their survivors may receive support that is similar to people bereaved by other types of death.

Abstract. Background: Pet ownership is often assumed to have mental health benefits, but the effect of pets on suicide risk has a scant literature. Aims: Using the interpersonal theory of suicide, we examined the relationships between perceived burdensomeness (PB), thwarted belongingness (TB), overall attachment to one's pet, pet attachment avoidance or anxiety, and suicide risk. The following three hypotheses were investigated: (1) Higher attachment would be indirectly associated with lower suicide risk via lower TB and lower PB; (2) attachment would be associated with higher suicide risk, as conditioned on attachment avoidance/anxiety; and (3) attachment avoidance/anxiety would be associated with higher suicide risk via higher TB/PB. Method: Undergraduates ( N = 187) completed surveys, and indirect effect and conditional effect analyses were utilized. Results: Overall attachment was associated with lower PB, which was associated with lower suicide risk. The relationship between overall attachment and suicide risk was not conditional upon attachment anxiety/avoidance. Attachment avoidance was associated with increased levels of TB, which was associated with increased suicide risk. Attachment anxiety was associated with increased suicide risk via TB and PB. Limitations: We used a university sample that had limited access to pets. Conclusions: Findings suggest that pet ownership may provide mixed associations with suicide risk.

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.

Background. Oquendo and colleagues ( Oquendo, Baca-García, Mann, & Giner, 2008 ; Oquendo & Currier, 2009 ) recommend that DSM-V emphasize suicide risk assessment on a sixth axis, thereby increasing regularity of suicide risk assessments. Aims. We propose that evidence of nonredundancy with Axis V – Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF) is one piece of data that can serve as a starting point for a line of research establishing incremental predictive utility for a separate suicide risk assessment in the DSM framework. Methods. A standardized suicide risk assessment protocol, measures of depressive, anxious, and eating disordered symptomatology, as well as an index of comorbidity were administered to a sample of 412 adult outpatients. Results. Our data indicate that data from standardized suicide risk assessments are associated with indices of symptomatology severity as well as comorbidity, controlling for GAF. Conclusions. These results support the nonredundancy of the assessments and suggest the utility of longitudinal investigations of the predictive utility of a sixth DSM axis in the assessment of suicide risk.