Suicidal ideation is associated with safety behavior usage among trauma-exposed individuals.
J Affect Disord
; 350: 863-866, 2024 Apr 01.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-38272368
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
Long-standing theoretical perspectives on suicidal ideation (SI) have posited that SI arises, in part, as a way to obtain relief from intense emotional pain. Yet, little research has examined whether SI is linked with other relief-driven behaviors. The present study sought to provide preliminary support for the link between SI and relief-driven safety behavior usage, a commonly used strategy for managing distress among trauma-exposed individuals.METHODS:
Trauma-exposed participants (n = 95) recruited for a larger study assessing mechanisms of posttraumatic stress disorder symptomology and completed a battery of self-report measures, including SI and their use of safety behaviors. Zero-inflated negative binomial regressions were utilized to examine the association of safety behavior usage with the presence/absence of SI (i.e., zero-inflation) and SI severity.RESULTS:
In bivariate models, safety behaviors were associated with a greater likelihood of experiencing any SI and reporting more severe SI. When covariates were added to the model, safety behavior usage remained significantly and positively associated with SI severity.LIMITATIONS:
The present study employed cross-sectional analyses of self-report data. Future research should use neurobehavioral tasks and intensive longitudinal data to test whether an underlying sensitivity to, or propensity to engage in, relief-driven behaviors contributes to SI.DISCUSSION:
Among trauma-exposed individuals, those who more frequently engage in negatively reinforced safety behaviors also report more severe SI. These findings dovetail with theoretical foundations of suicide linking SI with relief-driven motivations and provide further support that a propensity to engage in relief-driven behaviors is associated with SI.
Full text:
1
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic
/
Suicide
Type of study:
Observational_studies
/
Prevalence_studies
/
Prognostic_studies
/
Risk_factors_studies
Limits:
Humans
Language:
En
Journal:
J Affect Disord
Year:
2024
Type:
Article