Predictors of Posttraumatic Growth in Adults Bereaved by Suicide.

Background: Although suicide loss has been associated with several negative outcomes, numerous studies have shown that loss survivors can experience posttraumatic growth (PTG) following the suicide loss of a significant other. However, few studies have explored the mechanisms of such growth. Aims: The aim of this study was to identify predictors of PTG among a sample of adult suicide loss survivors and to explore whether the amount of time since the suicide loss moderated the relation between self-reported coping and PTG. Method: Suicide-bereaved adults (n = 307) completed online questionnaires measuring personality, coping, help-seeking attitudes, social support, and PTG. Results: Hierarchical regression analyses showed five independent associations with PTG: time since loss, perceived closeness, help-seeking attitudes, social support, and problem-focused coping. Time since loss did not moderate the relation between any of the self-reported coping styles and PTG. Limitations: The limitations of this study include a cross-sectional design, potential selection bias, no comparison or control group, and unrepresentative sample demographics of suicide loss survivors. Conclusion: Problem-focused coping showed the strongest association with PTG, independent of time since loss, suggesting that this coping style may facilitate growth throughout the grief trajectory.

Testing the predictions of the existential constructivist theory of suicide in a college student sample.

There is a lack of empirically supported theories explaining suicidal ideation and few theories describe how suicidal ideation can be prevented in the context of normative human development. Rogers (2001) proposed an existential constructivist theory of suicide (ECTS) wherein existential distress and the inability to reconstruct meaning from adverse life events contribute to suicidal ideation. The ECTS includes a distinct focus on meaning reconstruction from adverse life events, which is congruent with existing research on college students and developmental frameworks used by counseling psychologists. Thus, in the present study, we tested the predictions of the ECTS in a college student sample. We collected data online from 195 college students (i.e., ages 18-25) attending a large, Midwestern university and analyzed the data using structural equation modeling. Findings provided partial support for the original ECTS. Post hoc analyses of an alternate ECTS model indicated that existential distress mediated the negative association between meaning reconstruction and suicidal ideation. (PsycINFO Database Record

College Student Adjustment and Coping.

The present study examined the coping-related predictors of four domains of college adjustment (i.e., academic, social, personal or emotional, and institutional attachment) for bereaved and nonbereaved students ( N = 225). Findings indicated that support from friends was positively associated with academic and social adjustment and institutional attachment and that avoidant emotional-focused coping was negatively associated with all domains of adjustment for both bereaved and nonbereaved students. Interaction effects indicated that institutional attachment was lower at high levels of problem-focused coping for bereaved students and that bereaved students exhibited lower levels of both social adjustment and institutional attachment at low levels of family support, whereas nonbereaved students exhibited lower social adjustment at high levels of family support. Directions for future research and implications for practice and higher education policy are offered.

International and Domestic Students, Perceived Burdensomeness, Belongingness, and Suicidal Ideation.

Suicide is the second leading cause of death for traditional-age college students, and the interpersonal theory of suicide (ITS; Joiner, 2005) provides a cogent framework for predicting which students may be at highest risk. However, little is known about how constructs of ITS operate in cross-cultural contexts. Findings, based on a sample of international and domestic undergraduate students (N = 254), indicated that the ITS construct of perceived burdensomeness was positively associated with suicidal ideation (SI) for both groups. However, campus belongingness emerged as connected with SI for international students, whereas family belongingness emerged as connected with SI for domestic students.

College student suicidal ideation: Perceived burdensomeness, thwarted belongingness, and meaning made of stress.

The interpersonal theory of suicide (ITS) posits that suicidal ideation is interpersonal in nature. More specifically, in the ITS, perceived burdensomeness and thwarted belongingness are dynamic cognitive-affective interpersonal states that engender suicidal ideation. However, intrapersonal (i.e., within the self) existential protective factors for suicidal ideation, such as the ability to make meaning from stressful life events, remain relatively unexplored. The authors examined the degree to which interpersonal and intrapersonal variables contribute to the variance of suicidal ideation in college students (n = 165). Results indicated that students' meaning made of stress was negatively and uniquely associated with suicidal ideation after controlling for ITS interpersonal contributions.

Putting program evaluation to work: a framework for creating actionable knowledge for suicide prevention practice.

The economic and human cost of suicidal behavior to individuals, families, communities, and society makes suicide a serious public health concern, both in the US and around the world. As research and evaluation continue to identify strategies that have the potential to reduce or ultimately prevent suicidal behavior, the need for translating these findings into practice grows. The development of actionable knowledge is an emerging process for translating important research and evaluation findings into action to benefit practice settings. In an effort to apply evaluation findings to strengthen suicide prevention practice, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) supported the development of three actionable knowledge products that make key findings and lessons learned from youth suicide prevention program evaluations accessible and useable for action. This paper describes the actionable knowledge framework (adapted from the knowledge transfer literature), the three products that resulted, and recommendations for further research into this emerging method for translating research and evaluation findings and bridging the knowledge-action gap.