Social Integration and Suicide Ideation
Date
2019-05
Authors
Stokes, Nicole
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Abstract
Suicide is one of the leading causes of death among people in emerging adulthood. An essential component and early stage of suicide is suicide ideation. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between suicide ideation and social/interpersonal factors
among college students, with the purpose of providing suggestions that may help prevent
suicide at an early stage. Previous research has suggested a long list of risk factors for
suicide including illnesses, recent loss, mental health issues, history of abuse, social
isolation, etc. This study takes a social perspective to investigate suicide ideation.
According to the Interpersonal Theory of Suicide (IPTS), thwarted belongingness and
perceived burdensomeness are two elements of suicide ideation. Therefore, I
hypothesized that individuals who experience more negative social integration will be
more likely to develop thwarted belongingness and perceive more burdensomeness,
which in turn will be associated with suicide ideation. Mental health was controlled in
this study. Results showed that the majority of the student population of Texas State
University did not have suicidal thoughts. Suicide ideation was negatively related to
social integration and mental health, and positively related to thwarted belongingness and
perceived burdensomeness. Regression and Structural Equation Modeling indicated that
the effect of social integration on suicide ideation was first mediated by thwarted
belongingness and perceived burdensomeness, and then mediated by mental health.
Among all the factors examined, perceived burdensomeness is the most important
predictor for suicide ideation.
Description
Keywords
Suicide ideation, Social integration, Interpersonal theory of suicide, Social support, Mental health
Citation
Stokes, N. (2019). <i>Social integration and suicide ideation</i> (Unpublished thesis). Texas State University, San Marcos, Texas.