The Effect of Psychological Strains on Suicidal Thoughts: The Mediator Role of Interpersonal Needs

Date

2024-6-13

Author

Demir, Berkan

Metadata

Show full item record

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Item Usage Stats

333
views

514
downloads

Cite This

The primary purpose of the current study was to investigate the mediating effect of interpersonal needs (perceived burdensomeness, thwarted belongingness) in the relationship between psychological strains (i.e., value, aspiration, deprivation, coping) and suicidal thoughts. Moreover, it was examined whether this mediating effect was moderated by perceived social support and depression. The sample comprised five hundred and fourteen emerging adults who voluntarily completed the survey package, including the following measures: The Psychological Strains Scale (PSS), The Interpersonal Needs Questionnaire (INQ), the Suicide Probability Scale/Suicidal Thoughts Subscale (SPS/STS), Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS) and Demographic Information Form. Results of the SEM analysis revealed that interpersonal needs and psychological strains explained 66% of the variance in suicidal thoughts. Perceived burdensomeness and aspiration strain were two of the strongest predictors of vulnerability to suicidal thoughts. In addition, while perceived burdensomeness fully mediated the direct effect of value and deprivation strains on suicidal thoughts, thwarted belongingness fully mediated the direct impact of value and coping strains and partially mediated it for aspiration strain. Lastly, while depression moderated five out of eight indirect effects of psychological strains to suicidal thoughts through perceived burdensomeness and thwarted belongingness, social support moderated two out of eight. The findings were discussed by taking into consideration the relevant literature.

Subject Keywords

psychological strain, suicide, perceived burdensomeness, thwarted belongingness, depression, perceived social support

URI

https://hdl.handle.net/11511/109873

Collections

Graduate School of Social Sciences, Thesis