A test of the interpersonal theory of suicide in college students

Background: Suicide is the third leading cause of death among college students. The interpersonal theory of suicide may provide a way to conceptualize suicide risk in this population. Aims: We sought to examine relations between illegal behaviors that may act as risk factors for suicide and the acquired capability for suicide. Method: College students (N = 758) completed assessments of acquired capability and previous exposure to painful and provocative events, including illegal risk behaviors (IRBs). Linear regression, a nonparametric bootstrapping procedure, and two-tailed partial correlations were employed to test our hypotheses. Results: There was no significant relation between IRBs and acquired capability after controlling for legal painful and provocative experiences. A significant positive relation was identified between IRBs and fear/anxiety, contradicting the expected relation between increased painful and provocative experiences and lower fear/anxiety. Acquired capability explained variance in the relation between IRBs and history of suicide attempt or self-injury history. Conclusion: Further research is needed to examine links between IRBs and painful and provocative events, particularly to identify the point at which habituation begins to increase acquired capability, as our unexpected results may be due to a lack of habituation to risky behaviors or low variability of scores in the sample.

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775 The Relationship Between Sleep and Suicidal Ideation in College Students

SLEEP ◽

10.1093/sleep/zsab072.772 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 44 (Supplement_2) ◽

pp. A301-A302

Author(s):

Krishna Taneja ◽

Andrew Tubbs ◽

Fabian-Xosé Fernandez ◽

Michael Perlis ◽

Michael Grandner

Keyword(s):

College Students ◽

Suicidal Ideation ◽

Suicide Risk ◽

Severity Index ◽

Interpersonal Theory ◽

Thwarted Belongingness ◽

Perceived Burdensomeness ◽

Interpersonal Theory Of Suicide ◽

Short Sleep ◽

Sleep Control

Abstract Introduction Suicide is the second-leading cause of death for young adults and insomnia increases suicide risk. However, the data on disrupted sleep and suicidal ideation in college students is mixed, including whether disrupted sleep fits into the framework of the Interpersonal Theory of Suicide. Therefore, the present study explored how four different sleep variables influenced recent suicidal ideation in a collegiate sample. Methods Data from N=506 respondents were collected as part of the Assessing Nocturnal Sleep/Wake Effects on Risk of Suicide (ANSWERS) Survey in college students. The primary outcome, active suicidal ideation in the last 3 months, was assessed using several self-report questions derived from the Columbia Suicide Severity Rating Scale. The predictors were weekday short sleep (≤6h; assessed by retrospective sleep diary), Insomnia Severity Index (ISI) score, Brief Inventory of Sleep Control (BRISC) score, and Disturbing Dreams and Nightmares Severity Index (DDNSI) score. Binomial logistic regression models estimated the associations between suicidal ideation and sleep variables in models that were unadjusted, adjusted for age, sex, race, and ethnicity, and additionally adjusted for thwarted belongingness or perceived burdensomeness (constructs from the Interpersonal Theory of Suicide). Results A total of N=121 (23.9%) respondents endorsed suicidal ideation in the last 3 months. Individuals with suicidal ideation were in poorer health (p<0.001) and had more severe depression (p<0.001) and anxiety (p<0.001). In unadjusted models, individuals were more likely to report suicidal ideation if they had short sleep (OR 1.93 [1.23–3.05]), ISI scores of 8 or more (OR 3.01 [1.94–4.74]), and DDNSI scores of 10 or more (OR 2.66 [1.69–4.19]). Higher BRISC scores were associated with lower odds of suicidal ideation (OR 0.53 [0.41–0.68]). Adjusting for age, sex, race, ethnicity, thwarted belongingness, and perceived burdensomeness attenuated but did not eliminate any of these relationships. Conclusion Insomnia, short sleep, nightmares, and less perceived sleep control were all associated with recent suicidal ideation in college students. Moreover, these findings were generally independent of the Interpersonal Theory of Suicide. Further research is needed to understand how sleep affects suicide risk in this population, and whether sleep interventions can reduce this risk. Support (if any):

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777 Sleep and non-suicidal self-injury in college students

SLEEP ◽

10.1093/sleep/zsab072.774 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 44 (Supplement_2) ◽

pp. A302-A303

Author(s):

Sierra Hendershot ◽

Andrew Tubbs ◽

Fabian-Xosé Fernandez ◽

Michael Perlis ◽

Michael Grandner

Keyword(s):

College Students ◽

Suicide Risk ◽

Severity Index ◽

Interpersonal Theory ◽

Thwarted Belongingness ◽

Perceived Burdensomeness ◽

Interpersonal Theory Of Suicide ◽

Lower Odds ◽

Short Sleep ◽

Self Injury

Abstract Introduction Non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) can increase suicide risk and is highly prevalent among young adults, including college students. While there is mounting evidence that disrupted sleep increases suicide risk, it is unclear how sleep influences NSSIs. Therefore, the present study explored how sleep variables were associated with NSSIs in a college sample. Methods Data from N=506 respondents were collected as part of the Assessing Nocturnal Sleep/Wake Effects on Risk of Suicide (ANSWERS) Survey of college students. The primary outcome, lifetime NSSI, was assessed using a self-report question derived from the Columbia Suicide Severity Rating Scale. The predictors were weekday short sleep (≤ 6h; assessed by retrospective sleep diary), Insomnia Severity Index (ISI) score, Brief Inventory of Sleep Control (BRISC) score, and Disturbing Dreams and Nightmares Severity Index (DDNSI) score. Binomial logistic regression models estimated the associations between NSSI and sleep variables in models that were unadjusted, adjusted for age, sex, race, and ethnicity, and additionally adjusted for thwarted belongingness or perceived burdensomeness from the Interpersonal Theory of Suicide. Results A total of N=142 (28.1%) respondents endorsed lifetime non-suicidal self-injury. Individuals with NSSI were more likely to be female (p=0.015), in poorer health (p<0.001), and have more severe depression (p<0.001) and anxiety (p<0.001) than those without NSSI. In unadjusted models, higher BRISC scores were associated with lower odds of NSSI (OR 0.55 [0.43–0.71]), DDNSI scores of >=10 increased the odds of NSSI (OR 2.65 [1.70–4.11], and ISI scores of >=8 increased the odds of NSSI (OR 2.05 [1.38–3.08]), while short sleep was not associated with NSSI. Adjusting for age, sex, race, ethnicity, and thwarted belongingness did not eliminate any of these relationships but adjusting for perceived burdensomeness rendered the association between insomnia and NSSI non-significant. Conclusion Individuals with significant insomnia symptoms or nightmares were more likely to report a history of NSSI, while individuals with greater perceived control of sleep had lower odds of NSSI. These findings were generally independent of the Interpersonal Theory of Suicide. Further research is needed regarding the timing of NSSI (i.e., do they occur more often during nocturnal wakefulness) and whether sleep interventions can reduce the risk of NSSI. Support (if any):

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Testing the Interpersonal Theory of Suicide in a Sample of U.S. Air Force Members Who Died by Suicide

PsycEXTRA Dataset ◽

10.1037/e676252011-001 ◽

2011 ◽

Author(s):

Daniel W. Cox ◽

Edwin H. Szeto ◽

Marjan Ghahramanlou-Holloway ◽

Kathryn A. Deyoung ◽

Christina Schendel

Keyword(s):

Air Force ◽

Interpersonal Theory ◽

Interpersonal Theory Of Suicide

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Pet Attachment and the Interpersonal Theory of Suicide

10.31234/osf.io/p67bu ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Valerie Jane Douglas ◽

Mun Yee Kwan ◽

Kathryn H. Gordon

Keyword(s):

Suicide Risk ◽

Attachment Anxiety ◽

Interpersonal Theory ◽

Pet Ownership ◽

Thwarted Belongingness ◽

Perceived Burdensomeness ◽

Attachment Avoidance ◽

Interpersonal Theory Of Suicide ◽

Pet Attachment ◽

The Relationship

Objective: Pet ownership is often assumed to have mental health benefits, but the effect of pets on suicide risk has a scant literature. Method: Using the interpersonal theory of suicide, we examined the relationships between perceived burdensomeness, thwarted belongingness, overall attachment to one’s pet (quality of the relationship), pet attachment avoidance (distrustful of the relationship) or anxiety (afraid of abandonment), and suicide risk. Three hypotheses were investigated: 1) higher levels of attachment would be associated with lower suicide risk via lower levels of thwarted belongingness/perceived burdensomeness, 2) lower levels of pet attachment would be associated with higher levels of suicide risk via attachment avoidance/attachment anxiety, and 3) attachment avoidance/anxiety would be associated with higher suicide risk via thwarted belongingness/perceived burdensomeness. Undergraduates (N = 187) completed surveys and indirect effect analyses were utilized. Results: Higher overall attachment was associated with decreased attachment anxiety, which was associated with lower suicide risk. Attachment anxiety was correlated with increased suicide risk. Overall attachment, attachment avoidance and attachment anxiety were not found to indirectly affect suicide risk. Conclusions: Findings suggest that pet ownership may provide both protective and deleterious effects in a nonclinical sample.

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Interpersonal Predictors of Suicide Ideation and Attempt Among Early Adolescents

Professional School Counseling ◽

10.1177/2156759x211018653 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 25 (1) ◽

pp. 2156759X2110186

Author(s):

Emily Sallee ◽

Kok-Mun Ng ◽

Abraham Cazares-Cervantes

Keyword(s):

School Counselors ◽

Logistic Model ◽

Suicide Ideation ◽

Adolescent Suicide ◽

Early Adolescents ◽

Interpersonal Theory ◽

Interpersonal Theory Of Suicide ◽

School Settings ◽

Logistic Regressions ◽

Shed Light

Despite the growing epidemic of suicide ideation and attempt in adolescents, there is a lack of theory-based, empirical research to shed light on these issues in this population and inform school counselors’ preventive and responsive practices. We utilized Joiner’s Interpersonal Theory of Suicide (IPTS) to examine the extent to which the interpersonal constructs of perceived burdensomeness and thwarted belongingness predicted adolescent suicide ideation and attempt by conducting two binomial logistic regressions on archival data from the 2017 eighth-grade Oregon Healthy Teens Survey. Six of the seven selected proxy items were statistically significant in each logistic model, with slight variance between the two. Our findings suggest that the interpersonal constructs of the IPTS are applicable to early adolescents and may be used to inform suicide prevention and intervention efforts among this population in school settings.

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