The Role of Perceived Social Support in the Association Between Stressful Life Events and Suicidal Behavior

Background: Suicide is a serious public health concern for which there have been well-established protective and risk factors reported in literature. There is a lack of evidence on the indirect effects of other variables on these factors. Specifically, the association between stressful life events and suicidal behavior may be affected by perceived social support, but its role in this association is largely uninvestigated.Objectives: Thus, this paper aims to explore the role of perceived social support in the association between stressful life events and suicidal behavior. Perceived social support will be explored as a mediator and as a moderator in this association.Methods: Data were obtained from the Determinants of Suicidal Behavior Conventional and Emergent Risk (DISCOVER), a study conducted to identify risk factors of suicidal behavior. The study participants are individuals with suicide attempts admitted to hospital. Participants (n = 343) were recruited from hospital setting. Suicidal behavior was measured using two outcomes (1) the occurrence of a suicide attempt (2) level of suicide intent as measured by the Pierce Suicide Intent Scale. Perceived social support was measured using the Sarason Social Support Questionnaire.Results: Stressful life events were significantly associated with suicide attempts (OR 1.440, 95% CI 1.440, 1.682, p < 0.001) and perceived social support (B −0.785, 95% CI −1.501, −0.068, p = 0.032). There was no significant mediation effect by perceived social support in the association between stressful life events and suicide attempts (Sobel's test statistic 1.64, p = 0.100). Perceived social support did not moderate the relationship between stressful life events and suicide attempts [(OR 1.007, 95% CI 0.987, 1.027, p = 0.514] or the relationship between stressful life events and level of suicidal intent (B −0.043, 95% CI −0.132, 0.046, p = 0.343).Conclusion: Stressful life events are associated with increased risk of suicide attempts. The study also identified an inverse relationship between stressful life events and perceived social support. These associations were independent of perceived social support. This study highlights the effects of stressful life events on suicide risk is not affected by perceived social support, requiring further investigation into measures to reduce the impact of social stressors on people with risk of suicide.

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Stressful life events among incarcerated women and men: Association with depression, loneliness, hopelessness, and suicidality

Health & Justice ◽

10.1186/s40352-021-00140-y ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 9 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Kelly E. Moore ◽

Shania Siebert ◽

Garrett Brown ◽

Julia Felton ◽

Jennifer E. Johnson

Keyword(s):

Social Support ◽

Gender Differences ◽

Life Events ◽

Suicide Risk ◽

Stressful Life Events ◽

Perceived Social Support ◽

Well Being ◽

Stressful Events ◽

Stressful Life ◽

The Relationship

Abstract Background Justice-involved populations report a higher than average number of pre-incarceration stressful life events. However, few studies have described stressful life events which occur during incarceration, explored gender differences in these events, or evaluated the effect of these events on well-being. Method This study draws from a sample of male and female adults incarcerated in 6 prison facilities across two states (n = 160) to identify the number and type of stressful life events they experienced during incarceration, gender differences in stressful events, and the relationship between stressful life events and markers of well-being (i.e., depression, hopelessness, loneliness, suicidality). We also examined whether perceived social support would buffer the relationship between stressful events and well-being outcomes. Results Participants on average reported experiencing 4 stressful life events during their current incarceration, the most common being relocation to another cell and being made fun of/insulted by someone in the prison. There were few gender differences in types of events experienced. Regression analyses showed that stressful life events were associated with more loneliness, as well as suicidality, but only when participants had low perceived social support. Conclusions Stressful life events, and drawing on social support networks to cope with stress, should be addressed in the context of correctional treatments to reduce suicide risk during incarceration.

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The Role of Social Support in the Relationship between Stressful Life Events and Quality of Life among the Oldest Old

Korean Journal of Social Welfare Studies ◽

10.16999/kasws.2009.40.4.405 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 40 (4) ◽

pp. 405-430 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Injeong Lee

Keyword(s):

Quality Of Life ◽

Social Support ◽

Life Events ◽

Stressful Life Events ◽

Oldest Old ◽

Stressful Life ◽

The Relationship

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Case–control study of risk factors for suicide attempts in Isfahan, Iran

International Journal of Social Psychiatry ◽

10.1177/0020764016685347 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 63 (2) ◽

pp. 109-114 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Parastoo Golshiri ◽

Mojtaba Akbari ◽

Abbas Zarei

Keyword(s):

Social Support ◽

Life Events ◽

Religious Beliefs ◽

Stressful Life Events ◽

Case Control Study ◽

Suicide Attempts ◽

Perceived Social Support ◽

Stressful Life ◽

Factors Associated ◽

Control Study

Background: Suicide is an important, preventable, public health problem worldwide, caused by the interaction of numerous environmental, biological and psychosocial factors. Aims: This study aimed to identify the factors associated with suicidal attempts in Isfahan, Iran, in 2015. Methods: In this case–control study, 175 cases who committed suicide and were admitted to emergency services were compared with 175 controls selected among outpatients from the same hospital without any history of suicide attempt. Demographic, psychosocial, personality traits, religiosity, coping skills, stressful life events, socioeconomic status and psychiatric distress were compared between groups. Multivariable logistic regression was used to identify independent risk factors for suicide. Results: Marital status, education, socioeconomic status, psychological distress, perceived social support, stress coping strategies, personality, religious beliefs, stress life events and general health condition were significantly different between groups. The regression analysis revealed that perceived social support (odds ratio (OR) = 0.962, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.94–0.984), religious beliefs (OR = 0.923, 95% CI: 0.867–0.984) and stressful life event (OR = 1.524, 95% CI: 1.251–1.856) were significantly associated with suicide attempts. Conclusion: Our finding showed that religious beliefs, perceived social support and stressful life events are the main factors associated with suicide attempts. So, positive strategies such as improvements in life skills to control stressful life events, religiosity and perceived social support can be used to control suicide attempts.

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Stressful Life Events and Subjective Well-Being in Vocational School Female Adolescents: The Mediating Role of Depression and the Moderating Role of Perceived Social Support

Frontiers in Psychology ◽

10.3389/fpsyg.2020.603511 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 ◽

Author(s):

Mingkun Ouyang ◽

Danni Gui ◽

Xiao Cai ◽

Yulong Yin ◽

Xiaoling Mao ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Social Support ◽

Life Events ◽

Stressful Life Events ◽

Perceived Social Support ◽

Well Being ◽

Vocational School ◽

Stressful Life ◽

Female Adolescents ◽

Subjective Well Being

Stressful life events and subjective well-being are negatively related, but there is little research in the current literature exploring the mediating and moderating mechanisms underlying this association, especially for female adolescents in vocational schools who are subjected to undesirable life events. In the present study, we examined the mediating role of depression in the association between stressful life events and female adolescents’ subjective well-being, as well as the moderating role of perceived social support in the direct and indirect relations involved. The participants were 1,096 vocational school female adolescents, who completed the questionnaires regarding stressful life events, subjective well-being, depression, and perceived social support. The results showed that depression partially mediated the relation between stressful life events and subjective well-being. Importantly, perceived social support moderated the direct link between stressful life events and subjective well-being, and the indirect link between stressful life events and depression, but not the indirect link between depression and subjective well-being. Especially, female adolescents high in perceived social support displayed higher levels of subjective well-being and lower levels of depression in facing with stressful life events than those low in perceived social support. These findings highlight the mechanisms underlying the relationship between stressful life events and subjective well-being in vocational school female adolescents.

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