Religiosity as a buffer against suicidal ideation: a comparison between Christian and Muslim-Arab adolescents

The majority of existing studies on the impact of religious beliefs on adolescents’ suicidal ideation have been conducted among Christians living in Western countries. This study explored the association between religious beliefs and suicidal thoughts among Muslim and Christian adolescents from the Arab minority population of the State of Israel. An estimated 219 late-adolescents participated in this study, including 110 Muslims and 99 Christians, with the same proportion of boys and girls. Participants completed questionnaires on reasons for living, suicidal ideation and religiosity. A significant negative correlation (r =??.33) was found between level of religiosity and suicidal ideation, but only among the Christian adolescents. Religious devoutness may not be a universal buffer against suicidal ideation, across different religions.     

The relationships among gratitude,self‐esteem,depression, and suicidal ideation among undergraduate students

The main purpose of this study was to examine the relationships among gratitude, self‐esteem, depression, and suicidal ideation. In total, 814 undergraduate participants (259 males and 555 females with mean age of 20.13 years) completed four inventories measuring the variables of interest. Analyses of structural equation modeling found that gratitude had direct effects on individuals' self‐esteem, depression, and suicidal ideation. In addition, gratitude had indirect effects on individuals' suicidal ideation via self‐esteem and depression, and self‐esteem had direct effects on individuals' depression. These results support the proposed model of suicidal ideation and contribute to the understanding of how gratitude influences individuals' suicidal ideation via psychological and physical variables.     

The relationship between pulmonary function and suicidal ideation in Korean adults: a nationwide survey

Controversy surrounds the association between lung function and mental health in the general population, and previous reported results were confounded by the effect of other chronic illnesses. This study aimed to investigate whether reduced lung function was related to mental health issues, taking into consideration the relevant potential confounders. We used data from the 2008–2013 Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey to examine the relationship between lung function and three mental issues (recognized stress, depressive mood, and suicidal ideation) among 22,068 Korean adults. A multiple logistic regression with adjustment for potential covariates including chronic illnesses revealed that a .5-L decrement of forced vital capacity increased the risk for suicidal ideation in both genders, but there was no significant association with recognized stress or depressive mood. We found an inverse relationship between lung function and suicidal ideation in the Korean general population.     

Gender differences in adolescent coping behaviors and suicidal ideation: findings from a sample of 73,238 adolescents

Suicide among adolescents is an emerging global public health problem as well as a socioeconomic problem. Stress-coping strategies have been shown to be associated with suicidal ideation. We examined coping behaviors related to suicidal ideation and gender differences in adolescents using the data from the 2010 Korea Youth Risk Behavior Survey (ages 12–19 years; N = 73,238). Logistic regression analysis was used to evaluate associations between suicidal ideation and specific coping behaviors while controlling for potentially confounding variables. In both male and female groups, the coping behavior “drinking alcoholic beverages” and “smoking cigarettes” were positively associated with suicidal ideation. “Watching TV,” “playing online/mobile games,” and “sleeping” were negatively associated with suicidal ideation in both groups. In males, “engaging in sports” was negatively related to suicidal ideation. In females, “venting by talking to others” and “eating” were negatively related to suicidal ideation. The results indicate that there are gender differences in the effects of coping behaviors on adolescent suicidal ideation, and that developing adaptive coping strategies may function to reduce suicidality. Future studies are needed to examine whether improving coping skills can reduce suicidal ideation in a gender-specific manner.     

Relationship between annual household income and suicidal ideation: a cross-sectional study

Previous studies have shown that high income was associated with low risk of death by suicide; however, the extent to which household income reduces suicidal ideation remains unclear. We performed a survey to examine the relationship between annual household income and suicidal ideation and determine the level of annual household income at which suicidal ideation no longer decreased as income increased. In total, 94,131 members of Internet survey panels were recruited as participants by a major Japanese Internet survey company in 2016. The participants completed a self-administered questionnaire consisting of items pertaining to demographics, annual household income, and suicidal ideation. We performed logistic regression analysis with suicidal ideation as the dependent variable and income level as the independent variable. The results showed that odds ratios for suicidal ideation decreased as annual household incomes increased, with sex, age, educational level, marital status, and parenthood adjusted for; however, once annual household incomes exceeded 8 million JPY (approximately 77,700 USD), the risk of suicidal ideation no longer decreased. We conclude that suicidal ideation was negatively associated with annual household income and 8 million JPY (approximately 77,700 USD) is a threshold beyond which further increases in income no longer reduce individuals’ suicidal ideation.     

Prevalence of suicidal ideation and associated factors among postpartum HIV-positive women in health facilities,South Africa

The goal of this study was to investigate the prevalence of suicidal ideation and its associated factors in postpartum HIV-positive women in South Africa . A cross-sectional survey was carried out on 580 HIV positive postnatal women (M = 28 .5 years; SD = 5 .8) in 48 health facilities in Nkangala district, Mpumalanga, South Africa . Results indicate that 41 .2% of women reported suicidal ideation in the postnatal period . In multivariate analysis, receiving money from the family, having been diagnosed with a sexually transmitted infection (STI) (other than HIV) in the past year, and lack of social support were found to be associated with suicidal ideation . In conclusion, suicidal ideation is common among HIV positive postpartum women, which calls for inclusion of suicidality risk assessment and management protocols in interventions targeting postpartum women living with HIV .     

Linking family dysfunction to suicidal ideation: Mediating roles of self-views and world-views

Research on suicide has documented various factors predicting suicidal ideation. The present study focused on the pathways emanating from one of the external, environmental forces (i.e. family dysfunction) through internal responses (beliefs about oneself and about the world), to suicidal ideation among Hong Kong Chinese. Using structural equation modelling, we tested the mediating roles of depressive self-views (including stress perception, depressive cognition and negative self-esteem) as well as two dimensions of social axioms (social cynicism and negative reward for application). Multi-group analysis showed that the mediation model was invariant across both males and females. Being socialized into a problematic family of origin affected multiple aspects of one's assessments of both oneself and one's world which, in turn, lead to greater suicidal ideation. Our findings provide important implications for assessing suicidal risk and guiding interventions in clinical treatment.     

Social and individual risk factors for suicide ideation among Chinese children and adolescents: A multilevel analysis

The objective of this study was to investigate the prevalence and predictors of suicide ideation among primary, middle and high school students. We used multilevel modelling to investigate suicide ideation among 12,733 Chinese children and adolescents aged 9–18 years from wide range of areas across China. Approximately, 32.09% of children and adolescents reported suicide ideation, with females were more likely to report suicide ideation than males (38.09% vs. 29.95%). Our results showed that the risk factors in primary school students were different from middle and high school student groups, whereas significant risk factors for middle and high school students were similar. The city's standard of living as indicated by the Engel coefficient and the city's divorce rate were positively associated with the prevalence of suicide ideation; in contrast, the school's pupil‐to‐teacher ratio was negatively correlated with elevated suicide ideation. Significant risk factors for suicide ideation included study anxiety, self‐accusation tendency, impulsive tendency, terror tendency and physical symptoms. These results have important implications for the prevention of suicide, suggesting that both contextual (city‐level) and compositional (individual‐level) factors could be important targets for prevention and intervention for children and adolescents at risk of suicide ideation.     

儿童心理虐待与忽视和自杀意念的关系：有调节的中介模型

采用问卷法对988名初中生进行调查,探究儿童心理虐待与忽视和自杀意念的关系,应对方式的中介作用以及友谊质量的调节作用。结果表明：（1）儿童心理虐待与忽视正向预测自杀意念;（2）应对方式是儿童心理虐待与忽视和自杀意念之间的中介变量;（3）儿童心理虐待与忽视对自杀意念的直接效应受到友谊质量的调节,直接效应对于友谊质量低的青少年更显著;（4）儿童心理虐待与忽视通过应对方式对自杀意念的间接效应的后半段受到友谊质量的调节,友谊质量高的青少年的自杀意念水平相对更低。因此,儿童心理虐待与忽视和自杀意念之间是有调节的中介关系,儿童心理虐待与忽视通过应对方式影响自杀意念,友谊质量在直接路径和间接路径中起调节作用。     

Brooding and reflective rumination among suicide attempters: Cognitive vulnerability to suicidal ideation

Previous research suggests that the brooding subtype of rumination is associated with increased suicidal ideation, but findings are inconsistent with respect to reflection, considered to be the more adaptive form of rumination. This study investigated the circumstances under which reflective rumination might be associated with increased suicidal ideation by examining whether a suicide attempt history moderated the relationship between the ruminative subtypes and current suicidal ideation. Thirty-seven young adults who reported a past suicide attempt and fifty-nine young adults without a suicide attempt history completed measures of rumination and depression symptoms in an initial study session. They then completed a measure of suicidal ideation and hopelessness during a second study session. Overall, brooding was associated with higher self-reported suicidal ideation, whereas reflection was not significantly associated with ideation. However, reflection - but not brooding - interacted with suicide attempt history to statistically predict suicidal ideation, even after adjusting for symptoms of depression and hopelessness, whereas brooding no longer predicted ideation after adjusting for these symptoms. These findings qualify earlier suggestions that reflection is a more adaptive form of rumination by indicating that among vulnerable individuals - in particular those with a history of a suicide attempt - a higher degree of reflective rumination is associated with increased suicidal ideation.     

Family support,family stress,and suicidal ideation in a combat-exposed sample of Operation Enduring Freedom/Operation Iraqi Freedom veterans

Background and Objectives: Deployment-related risk factors for suicidal ideation among Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) and Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) veterans have received a great deal of attention. Studies show that mental health symptoms mediate the association between most deployment stressors and suicidal ideation; however, family-related factors during deployment are largely unexplored. We examined posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression symptoms as mediators of the associations between deployment family support and stress and post-deployment suicidal ideation in combat-exposed OEF/OIF veterans. Design: National cross-sectional mail survey. Methods: 1046 veterans responded to the survey. The sample for this study was 978 veterans who experienced combat. Regression-based path analyses were conducted. Results: Family support and stress had direct associations with suicidal ideation. When PTSD and depression symptoms were examined as mediators of these associations, results revealed significant indirect paths through these symptoms. Conclusions: This study contributes to the literature on suicidal ideation risk factors among OEF/OIF veterans. Deployment family support and family stress are associated with suicidal ideation; however these associations occur primarily through mental health symptomatology, consistent with findings observed for other deployment factors. This research supports ongoing efforts to treat mental health symptomatology as a means of suicide prevention.     

Familias Unidas: a family-centered ecodevelopmental intervention to reduce risk for problem behavior among Hispanic adolescents

This paper describes the theoretical and empirical foundations of Familias Unidas, a multilevel, family-centered intervention designed to prevent problem behavior in Hispanic adolescents. The main theoretical tenets for the intervention model; an ecological-developmental perspective, the centrality of ethnic and cultural themes, application of empowerment principles, and a family focus are reviewed. The literature on the risk and protective factors that provided the justification for the intervention's targeted mediators and the core clinical applications that are intended to alter them are discussed. Familias Unidas engages Hispanic immigrant parents into an empowerment process in which they first build a strong parent-support network and then use the network to increase knowledge of culturally relevant parenting, strengthen parenting skills, and then apply these new skills in a series of activities designed to reduce risks frequently found in poor, urban environments. The available evidence supporting the efficacy of Familias Unidas is summarized, as are future goals and a current, second-generation application of the intervention.     

Naturalistic evaluation of suicidal ideation: variability and relation to attempt status

Suicidal ideation has been thought to have a relatively stable course across weeks and months. However, daily changes in levels of ideation have not been adequately examined despite the importance of potential variability clinically and conceptually. For example, it has been suggested that variability in suicidal ideation may become less closely tied to variability in other mood symptoms (e.g., depression, hopelessness) among individuals with multiple suicide attempts. The present report had two related goals: (1) to prospectively evaluate suicidal ideation and related mood symptoms, and (2) to determine whether suicide attempt status predicted a decreased association between ideation and other mood symptoms. Non-clinical participants (N=108) with varying levels of suicidal ideation and number of previous suicide attempts completed the beck hopelessness scale (BHS), beck depression inventory (BDI), and suicide probability scale (SPS) every day for 4 weeks. Findings suggested considerable variability in suicidal ideation, especially for multiple attempters. Multiple attempt status predicted a decreased association between suicidal ideation and depression, although the results were only marginally significant. These findings have implications for conceptual models of suicide risk as well as assessment and treatment of suicidal individuals.     

Exposure to Violence in Young Inner-City Adolescents: Relationships With Suicidal Ideation, Depression, and PTSD Symptomatology

This study examined the relationship of exposure to violence to suicidal ideation, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptomatology in 94 young adolescents from an inner-city school. Participants completed self-report measures of the Reynolds Adolescent Depression Scale, the Suicidal Ideation Questionnaire—Junior, Adolescent Psychopathology Scale—Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Subscale, and the Exposure to Violence Questionnaire. Using a hierarchical multiple regression design, exposure to violence demonstrated a unique relationship with PTSD symptomatology. Specifically, the relationship between violence exposure and PTSD symptomatology remained significant after controlling for depression and suicidal ideation severity. Controlling for PTSD symptomatology resulted in nonsignificant relationships between violence exposure and depression and suicidal ideation in adolescents. Additional analyses suggest that PTSD functions as a mediating variable between exposure to violence and depression and suicidal ideation. The implication of these results and suggestions for future research are discussed.