The association between coping behaviors and the interpersonal theory of suicide in college students

Objectives

High levels of stress are associated with suicide ideation among college students. The interpersonal theory of suicide provides a framework for conceptualizing the association between stress and suicide. This study will examine the associations between multiple types of stress (daily life hassles vs. negative life events) on suicidal ideation and the role of adaptive/maladaptive coping skills as potential moderators of the relationship between stress, thwarted belongingness, perceived burdensomeness, and suicidal ideation.

Design

The current study is a secondary analysis of data gathered from South-eastern university students in the U.S.

Method

College students (N = 218) with elevated depressive symptoms completed cross-sectional surveys. Participants were predominantly (78%) women and (72.8%) Hispanic, with a mean age of 20.81 years (SD = 3.96).

Results

Daily life hassles and negative life events were indirectly associated with suicidal ideation via perceived burdensomeness and thwarted belongingness. Only maladaptive coping behaviors significantly moderated the indirect effect of daily life hassles and negative life events on suicide ideation via perceived burdensomeness, but not thwarted belongingness. Thus, reliance on maladaptive coping behaviors increased the strength of the association between daily life hassles/negative life events and suicidal ideation.

Limitations

This study utilized cross-sectional data from a sample of college students with elevated depressive symptoms and may not generalize to other college student populations. Additionally, the use of cross-sectional data precludes causal interpretations of the findings.

Conclusion

An improved understanding of potential buffers against the effects of stress can help identify opportunities for targeted prevention efforts to reduce rates of suicide-related behaviors in college students. Findings suggest that efforts to reduce student use of maladaptive coping behaviors may help to negate the negative impacts of stress on suicidal ideation.