Perceptions of Past Parenting and Adult Attachment as Vulnerability Factors for Suicidal Ideation in the Context of the Integrated Motivational-Volitional Model of Suicidal Behavior

Reporting Ethical Procedures in Suicide Prevention Research: Current Status and Recommendations

OBJECTIVE

Ethical concerns frequently arise in suicide prevention research regarding participant safety and confidentiality. Despite a substantial literature on managing and navigating ethical concerns in suicide research, little attention has been paid to the reporting of ethical procedures. Furthermore, standard procedures for reporting ethical risk management procedures have not been developed.

METHOD

A review of the current literature was performed to examine the current state of reporting of ethical procedures within suicide research. Articles published in 2020 (N = 263) from three suicide-focused publications were screened and then coded (n = 131) to identify reporting of procedures for the ethical conduct of research and suicide risk management steps taken by the research teams.

RESULTS

The majority of articles reported ethical review or approval (84.7%) and reported the use of an informed consent process (77.9%). Only 28.2% included risk mitigation procedures. Of those 29.7% of those articles reported conducting risk evaluation, 66.7% reported resource dissemination, and 51.4% reported an intervention.

CONCLUSION

As empirical support for brief interventions accrues, suicide prevention researchers should consider establishing standards for the reporting of procedures to ensure the safety of participants with suicidal risk.HighlightsReporting suicide safety protocols helps ensure high ethical standards in research.Fewer than 1/3 of articles reviewed reported risk mitigation procedures in 2020.Standard procedures for reporting safety protocols in suicide research are needed.

Lifetime and Current Self-Harm Thoughts and Behaviors and Their Relationship to Parent and Peer Attachment

Background: Previous research suggests attachment is a vulnerability factor for self-harm thoughts and behaviors in adults. Yet, few studies have investigated this relationship during adolescence, although adolescence is a critical period for changes in attachment relationships and self-harm onset. Whether and how attachment relates to self-harm thoughts and behaviors as measured in daily life is also unknown. Aims: To investigate whether and how paternal, maternal, and peer attachment are associated with lifetime and current adolescent self-harm thoughts and behaviors. Additionally, to examine how different attachment bonds interact in relation to lifetime and current adolescent self-harm thoughts and behaviors. Method: Pre-existing data from N = 1,913 adolescents of the SIGMA study were used. Attachment and lifetime history of self-harm thoughts and behaviors were measured via retrospective questionnaires. Current self-harm thoughts and behaviors were assessed 10 times per day for 6 days using the experience sampling method (ESM). Results: Paternal and maternal attachments were associated with lifetime self-harm thoughts and behaviors and current self-harm thoughts. No significant associations were found between peer attachment and self-harm outcomes. Limitations: Some analyses were underpowered. Conclusion: Our results highlight the importance of parent-child attachment relationships, which may be intervention targets for prevention and treatment of adolescent self-harm.

Perceived entrapment predicts first-onset suicidal ideation: A longitudinal study among medical students in China

Introduction

The prevalence of suicidal ideation among medical students is high. Evidence indicates that feelings of entrapment are a predictor of suicidal ideation. In this study, we aimed to (1) investigate the prevalence of first-onset suicidal ideation among Chinese medical students and (2) explore the predictive effects of perceived entrapment on first-onset suicidal ideation.

Methods

This longitudinal study was conducted between 2018 and 2019 among 211 newly enrolled medical students in Shanghai. Using an anonymous questionnaire, we collected information on sociodemographic (sex, major, parents' income, and academic performance) and psychological (entrapment, depression, loneliness, defeat, social support, and interpersonal needs) variables as well as suicidal ideation. Participants were divided into four subgroups based on their exposure to entrapment (control, new-onset, reduced, and persistent). The primary outcome, first-onset suicidal ideation, was defined as suicidal ideation absent at baseline but present at follow-up.

Results

In total, 54.98% of participants (116/211) were women, and 76.78% (162/211) majored in clinical medicine. In the follow-up survey, 6.16% of participants (16/211) reported first-onset suicidal ideation, 17.54% (37/211) reported new-onset entrapment, and 12.80% (27/211) reported persistent entrapment during follow-up. Compared with the control group who reported no perceived entrapment at baseline and follow-up, participants who reported new-onset entrapment had the highest risk of new-onset suicidal ideation [odds ratio (OR) = 14.700, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 2.906-74.364; adjusted OR = 8.798; 95% CI = 1.588-48.757; multivariate OR = 8.238, 95% CI = 1.394-48.693).

Conclusion

New-onset entrapment can significantly predict suicidal ideation. Therefore, greater attention is needed for new-onset entrapment, such as intervention for suicidal ideation.

Investigating the role of residential migration history on the relationship between attachment and sense of belonging: A SEM approach

With the rate of both domestic and international migration steadily increasing, the psychological impact of residential migration remains largely unexplored. Attachment, the emotional bond we establish with those close to us, and sense of belonging, the feeling of connectedness to a community, may be vulnerable to frequent migration. This study investigates the association between individuals' early attachment style, sense of belonging, and migration history. A large international sample (N = 465) aged between 18 and 50 years old (M = 21.85; SD = 4.48), completed a survey on early attachment primary attachment style questionnaire (PASQ), sense of belonging (SOBI), and migration. Results comparing non-movers (n = 240) to domestic movers (n = 52), international movers (n = 109), and domestic-international movers (n = 64), indicate important group differences related to early attachment and its relationship to one's sense of belonging. Moreover, insecure attachment was associated with increased migration early in life and, more in general, predictive of a negative sense of belonging later in life. Implications for both research and practice are discussed.

Examining the protective function of perceptions of post-traumatic growth against entrapment and suicidal ideation

BACKGROUND

Recent evidence has found that reporting post-traumatic growth (PTG) from a past stressful life event is associated with lower reports of suicidal ideation. Perceptions of PTG measure the extent to which an individual reports positive changes in their identity, relationships, and worldviews after a stressful event. However, little is known about how perceptions of PTG interact with feelings of defeat and entrapment to influence suicidal ideation. The current study examined this question through the Integrated Motivational-Volitional (IMV) Model of Suicidal Behavior.

METHODS

521 adult participants (315 females with age range of 18-82, M = 30.4 years, SD = 13.6) completed an online cross-sectional questionnaire with defeat, entrapment, suicidal ideation, PTG, depression and anxiety measures. Hypotheses and data analysis plans were pre-registered prior to data collection.

RESULTS

PTG negatively correlated with defeat, entrapment and suicidal ideation. PTG predicted lower suicidal ideation when controlling for entrapment, depression and anxiety. PTG did not moderate the relationship between defeat on entrapment or the relationship between entrapment on suicidal ideation.

LIMITATIONS

The findings were based on cross-sectional data where participants recalled experiences of defeat, entrapment and suicidal ideation from the past year. The sample was a large community (non-clinical) sample, and most of the participants identified as white (85%).

CONCLUSION

Although PTG did not function as a moderator within the IMV model of suicidality, it predicted lower suicidal ideation while controlling for other known predictors of suicidal ideation. Future research could explore the function of PTG in appraisal-based models of suicidality.