Abstract
The present study examined the relative contribution of diagnostic and psychosocial factors to the prediction of severity of suicidal ideation in a sample of 78 college students. Using hierarchical regression analyses to control for each set of factors, psychosocial variables were found to consistently predict level of suicidal ideation. In contrast, diagnostic variables including diagnosis of substance abuse and composite scores for depression and anxiety were unrelated to level of suicidality. An examination of individual diagnoses revealed no predictable relationships with severity of suicidality in this population. The results were discussed from several methodological viewpoints.
Similar content being viewed by others
REFERENCES
Adams, J., & Adams, M. (1996). The association among negative life events, perceived problem solving alternatives, depression, and suicidal ideation in adolescent psychiatric patients. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 37, 715–720.
Adams, D. M., Overholser, J. C., & Spirito, A. (1994). Stressful life events associated with adolescent suicide attempts. Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, 39, 43–48.
Allebeck, P., & Allgulander, C. (1990). Psychiatric diagnoses as predictors of suicide: A comparison of diagnoses at conscription and in psychiatric care in a cohort of 50,465 young men. British Journal of Psychiatry, 157, 339–344.
Allgulander, C., Allebeck, P., Przybeck, T. R., & Rice, J. P. (1992). Risk of suicide by psychiatric diagnosis in Stockholm County: A longitudinal study of 80,970 psychiatric inpatients. European Archives of Psychiatry and Clinical Neuroscience, 241, 323–326
Barnes, G. M., & Windle, M. (1987). Family factors in adolescent alcohol and drug abuse. Pediatrician, 14, 13–18.
Beautrais, A. L., Joyce, P. R., Mulder, R. T., Fergusson, D. M., Deavoll, B. J., & Nightingale, S. K. (1996). Prevalence and comorbidity of mental disorders in persons making serious suicide attempts: A case-control study. American Journal of Psychiatry, 153, 1009–1014.
Clum, G.A., & Febbraro, G. A. R. (1994). Stress, social support, and problem solving appraisal/skills: Prediction of suicide severity within a college sample. Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment, 16, 69–83.
Clum, G.A., Patsiokas, A., & Luscomb, R. (1979). Empirically based comprehensive treatment program for parasuicide. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 47, 937–945.
D'Attilio, J. P., Campbell, B. M., Lubold, P., Jacobson, T., & Richard, J. A. (1992). Social support and suicide potential: Preliminary findings for adolescent populations. Psychological Reports, 70, 76–78.
de Mann, A. F., & Labreche-Gauthier, L. (1991). Suicide ideation and community support: An evaluation of two programs. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 47, 57–60.
Dixon, W. A., Heppner, P. P., & Anderson, W. (1991). Problem-solving appraisal, stress, hopelessness, and suicide ideation in a college population. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 38, 51–56.
Flannery, R. B., & Wienman, D. (1989). Social support, life stress, and psychological distress: An empirical assessment. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 45, 867–872.
Hart, E. E., Williams, C. L., & Davidson, J. A. (1988). Suicidal behavior, social networks, and psychiatric diagnosis. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, 23, 222–228.
Holley, H. L., Arboleda-Florez, J., & Love, E. J. (1995). Lifetime prevalence of prior suicide attempts in a remanded population and relationship to current mental illness. International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology, 39, 191–209.
Lewinsohn, P. M., Roberts, R. E., Seeley, J. R., Rohde, P., Gotlib, I. H., & Hops, H. (1994a). Adolescent psychopathology: II. Psychosocial risk factors for depression. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 103, 302–315.
Lewinsohn, P. M., Rohde, P., & Seeley, J. R. (1994). Psychosocial risk factors for future adolescent suicide attempts. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 62, 297–305.
Lewinsohn, P. M., Rohde, P., & Seeley, J. R. (1996). Adolescent suicidal ideation and attempts: Prevalence, risk factors, and clinical implications. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice, 3, 25–46.
Marttunen, M. (1994). Psychosocial maladjustment, mental disorders and stressful life events that precede adolescent suicide. Psychiatrica Fennica, 25, 39–51.
Needle, R., McCubbin, H., Lorence, J., & Houchhaser, M. (1983). Reliability and validity of adolescent self-reported drug use in a family-based study: A methodological report. International Journal of Addictions, 18, 901–912.
Priester, M. J., & Clum, G. A. (1993). Perceived problem-solving ability as a predictor of depression, hopelessness, and suicide ideation in a college population. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 40, 79–85.
Reinherz, H. Z., Giaconia, R. M., Silverman, A. B., Friedman, A., Pakiz, B., Frost, A. K., & Cohen, E. (1995). Early psychosocial risk factors for adolescent suicide ideation and attempts. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 34, 599–611.
Rudd, M. D. (1990). An integrative model of suicidal ideation. Suicide and Life Threatening Behavior, 20, 16–30.
Rudd, M. D., Rajeb, M. H., & Dahm, P. F. (1994). Problem-solving appraisal in suicide ideators and attempters. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 64, 136–149.
Shaffer, D., Gould, M. S., Fisher, P., Trautman, P., Moreau, D., Kleinman, M., & Flory, M. (1996). Psychiatric diagnosis in child and adolescent suicide. Archives of General Psychiatry, 53, 339–348.
Suominen, K., Henriksson, M., Suokas, J., Isometsa, E., Ostamo, A., & Lonnqvist, J. (1996). Mental disorders and comorbidity in attempted suicide. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, 94, 234–240.
Williams, J. B., Gibbon, M., First, R. B., Spitzer, R. L., Davies, M. D., Borus, J., Howes, M. J., Kane, J., Pope, H. G., Rounsaville, B., & Wittchin, H. (1992). The structured clinical interview for DSM-III-R (SCID): Multisite test-retest reliability. Archives of General Psychiatry, 49, 630–636.
Winokur, G., & Black, D. W. (1987). Psychiatric and medical diagnoses as risk factors for mortality in psychiatric patients: A case-control study. American Journal of Psychiatry, 144, 208–211.
Yang, B., & Clum, G.A. (1994). Life stress, social support, and problem solving skills predictive of depressive symptoms, hopelessness, and suicide ideation in an Asian student population: A test of a model. Suicide and Life Threatening Behavior, 24, 127-s139.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Clum, G.A., Esposito, C.L., Hirai, M. et al. The Relative Contribution of Diagnostic and Psychosocial Variables to Severity of Suicidal Ideation. Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment 22, 79–90 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1007528632026
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1007528632026