Research has found an inverse relationship between posttraumatic growth (PTG) and suicidal ideation in military and community samples that holds when controlling for other suicide risk factors. However, further research is needed into the underlying mechanisms to clarify how PTG protects against the formation of suicidal ideation. The current two-wave longitudinal study examined whether perceiving PTG from recent adverse circumstances while in a national lockdown during the COVID-19 pandemic attenuated the positive relationship of two interpersonal suicide risk factors – perceived burdensomeness (PB) and thwarted belonginess (TB)–over 6 weeks. Participants (n = 170) were recruited online from Prolific from income-deprived areas in the United Kingdom (mean age = 37.65; SD = 12.50; 53.5% female). Post-hoc power analyses indicated we had insufficient power to examine the hypothesised mediation for TB. We examined whether PTG mediated the relationship between PB at wave 1 and wave 2 while controlling for depression and anxiety in a sample of individuals at-risk for suicidal ideation. PTG did significantly and partially mediate the positive relationship between PB at wave 1 and 2. We discuss the theoretical and clinical implications that could result if future research successfully replicates these initial exploratory findings.
Introduction
Posttraumatic growth (PTG) is the positive psychological changes individuals may report in their identity, relationships, and worldviews after struggling with distressing, and potentially traumatic life experiences (Tedeschi and Calhoun, 2004). It is typically measured via self-report questionnaire, asking individuals to rate positive changes experienced in personal strength, spirituality, appreciation of life, personal relationships, and identification of new possibilities in life (Tedeschi and Calhoun, 1996). Although this methodology is retrospective and might not mirror how individuals change in these dimensions over time (Frazier et al., 2009), the act of perceiving PTG from past adversity could have an adaptive role in helping individuals cope with current stressors (Tennen and Affleck, 2002). Indeed, researchers have started to examine whether PTG is a protective factor against the development of suicidal ideation due to calls to explore suicide resiliency (Wingate et al., 2006). Bush et al. (2011) found an inverse relationship between PTG and suicidal ideation in a correlational study with US army personnel when controlling for risk factors, such as depression, PTSD, and combat exposure. Similarly, Gallaway et al. (2011) found this inverse relationship between PTG and suicidal ideation in US army soldiers. This relationship between PTG and suicidal ideation has also been observed in non-military populations (Yu et al., 2010; Sheline, 2013; Yasdiman et al., 2022), indicating that PTG could have a protective role in this context.
However, although these findings are promising, research into the underlying mechanisms is needed to understand how PTG protects against the formation of suicidal ideation. Recent research by Yasdiman et al. (2022) has started to address this question by exploring how PTG fits into the Integrated Motivational-Volitional (IMV) Model of Suicidal Behaviour (O’Connor and Kirtley, 2018). The IMV is an established model of suicide behaviour mapping the potential pathways between risk factors to suicidal ideation and behaviours. In a pre-registered design and with a well powered community sample, Yasdiman et al. (2022) found that contrary to predictions derived from the IMV model, PTG did not moderate the relationship between defeat and entrapment or between entrapment and suicidal ideation. Yet, Yasdiman et al. (2022) did find the inverse relationship between PTG and suicidal ideation. The current study builds on this research to examine whether PTG has a protective function on suicidal ideation indirectly by attenuating some of the interpersonal suicide risk factors that increase feelings of entrapment and strengthen the IMV pathway between entrapment and suicidal ideation (O’Connor and Kirtley, 2018).
Read Full Article Here. https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychology/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.998836/full
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