Life stress, psychological distress, social support and suicide ideation : an integrative model

Students from the University of Texas at Austin participated in this study which proposed and tested an integrative model of suicide ideation. Life stress, depression, hopelessness, and perceived social support from family members and friends were found to be of critical importance in predicting suicide ideation. Although social support was not found to moderate the relationship between life stress and psychological distress, a main effect for support was uncovered. Results also highlighted the importance of support from family members relative to that from friends. Findings indicated that previous estimates of suicide ideation among young adults may have been too low, as over 43 percent of subjects reported some level of suicidal thoughts. In addition, almost 15 percent had in some way acted on those thoughts. Finally, several components of suicide ideation were identified, as a distinction was made between passive and active ideation and covert and overt thoughts.