Gay males have higher than average rates of suicidal ideation, which has been attributed in part to the pressure to conform to societal religious norms. Using the theoretical frameworks of Durkheim and of Pescosolido and Georgianna, the purpose of this quantitative study was to explore the role of religiosity as a factor of suicidal ideation in gay males. In this study, 113 gay males completed an online survey regarding their level of religiosity as measured by the Religious Background and Behaviors Questionnaire, past suicidal ideation as measured by the Suicidal Ideation Measure, and certain predictor variables, including being "out" to family members, family being supportive, age, religious affiliation (current and during childhood), ethnicity, and population of town during childhood. Regression analyses found no direct statistical significance between level of religiosity and suicidal ideation. There was a predictive relationship, however, between level of family support, level of religiosity, and suicidal ideation. These findings support the Pescosolido and Georgianna theory that belongingness reduces suicidal ideation. The implications for positive social change include the need for mental health professionals to highlight the importance of positive support for gay males as a potential buffer to suicidal ideation.

Suicidal behaviors have continued to increase in the United States (U.S.) Army population since the beginning of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Suicide rates are higher in men compared to women; yet, the rate of suicidal ideation is higher in women than men. The purpose of this study was to determine if there is a correlation between suicidal ideation and protective factors, if social support and resiliency are different for men and women within the U.S. Army population, and if gender acts as a moderating variable between suicidal ideation and protective factors. The interpersonal-psychological theory of suicidal behavior was used as the foundation for this study. Secondary data were collected from the U.S. Army Public Health Center. After removing missing responses, the total sample size for this study was N = 3,446. Chi-square, independent samples t test, and multiple logistic regressions were used to determine the relationship between gender, suicidal ideation, resiliency, and social support in the U.S. Army active duty population. The percentage who reported suicidal ideation was 3.6% versus 4.9% for males and females, respectively. Social support was statistically significantly correlated with suicidal ideation (p = 0.002) while resiliency was not statistically significantly correlated with suicidal ideation (p = 0.68). Neither scale was effective in detecting differences among gender groups. Refined instruments are needed for evaluation of small changes in regard to protective factors. To promote social change, this study can be used to enhance knowledge about protective factors and gender in the context of the suicidal process, thus furthering the knowledge about how to prevent suicide in the U.S. Army population.

Policing has long been recognized by experts in the field as a stressful, unpredictable, emotionally exhausting, and dangerous occupation. Stress and contributing risk factors have lasting and sometimes fatal results among police officers. The purpose of this quantitative study was to determine if there is a relationship between symptoms of depression and 3 constructs of the Personal Observation Wellness and Evaluation Report--Power Portfolio (PP) survey, specifically administrative and organizational pressures, emotional, physical, psychological threats, and lack of administrative support. Archival data from the National Police Suicide Foundation were used. The independent variable was symptoms of depression as measured by the PP. The dependent variables were administrative and organizational pressures, physical and psychological threats, and lack of support as measured by the work-related problems domain of the PP. The participants (N = 150) consisted of officers employed by local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies throughout the United States. The results of the regression analysis and ANOVA were significant for the 3 research questions. The independent variable depression was related to work-related problems, work-related punishments, and the overall score reflecting participants feelings about their work as police officers. The results illustrate that police officers encounter organizational/administration demands with added stressors that accumulatively can develop into maladaptive coping mechanism and skills. Implications for positive social change include the development of mandatory interventions tailored to meet the need of individual police officers. These and other regulations, training, and protocols may reduce officers' work-related stress and improve the relationship between line and administrative personnel.

Alcohol and drug abuse are strong predictors of suicide. While screening methods have proven effective at identifying and treating substance abuse in non-treatment-seeking users (e.g., screening and brief intervention [SBI]), less attention has been given to the co-occurrence of suicidality among this population, including its correlates and etiology. The current study addresses this gap by presenting data from early adult emergency department (ED) patients (mean age = 27; N = 505), screened for substance abuse and suicidal ideation. Prevalence of past year ideation was high (15%). Results demonstrated a significant and positive indirect effect of cocaine use severity on likelihood of suicidal ideation, mediated through family support. The implications for SBI practices in the ED and suicide etiology among non-treatment-seeking substance abusers are discussed.

This study aimed to explore the relationship among self-esteem, problem solving ability, ways of coping, social support and suicidal ideation of patients with schizophrenia and the differences between these variables according to the existence of suicide attempt of the patients with schizophrenia. In order to analyse the relationship and find out the differences among patients who did and did not attempt suicide, Rosenberg&#039 / s Self Esteem Scale, Problem Solving Inventory, Turkish Ways of Coping Inventory, Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support and Suicidal Ideation Scale were conducted to 90 patients with schizophrenia. The results of the study indicated that there was not a significant main effect for suicide attempt on self-esteem, problem solving,problem focused coping, emotion focused coping, indirect coping, social support and suicidal ideation of patients with schizophrenia. The only variable that significantly predict suicidal ideation found to be self-esteem. The results of the study evaluated and implications of the study were discussed. Finally, limitations of the study and recommendations for future research were explained.

Suicide is the second leading cause of death among college students, making it a prime target for prevention initiatives on college campuses. Efforts to manage the problem of suicidality on campus frequently involve shepherding students at elevated risk into treatment services through the college counseling center. Several scholars have called for suicide prevention efforts to take a public health approach, seeking to intervene more broadly by improving the mental health of the general population that is currently at little to no risk of developing an imminent suicidal crisis. One manner of expanding these prevention efforts is to investigate those factors that preserve the emotional and mental resilience of college students facing similar life stressors and distress levels. As such, scholars of suicidality have called for closer examination of those protective factors that prevent some students--experiencing comparable levels of stress as compared to their suicidal peers--from ever entering into or progressing along the suicidality continuum. Mindfulness is a construct that has shown promise in the intervention literature for its ameliorative affect on a range of disorders and problematic coping behaviors. The possible protective benefit of dispositional levels of mindfulness at varying points along the suicidal continuum is not well understood, and the present study seeks to remedy this gap in the literature in a large sample of college students. Using archival data from a national survey of college student coping collected in 2011 by The National Research Consortium of Counseling Centers in Higher Education, this study explored the effect of trait mindfulness levels on entry into and progression along the continuum of suicidality. Multilevel modeling was used to explore associations between historical and demographic predictors of suicidality, dispositional mindfulness levels, self-reported distress levels during a recent stressful period, strength of intent during a recent suicidal crisis, and suicidal thoughts and behaviors along a continuum of suicidality. Results indicated that mindfulness conveys protection at the threshold of developing suicidal thoughts during a recent stressor, but is not associated with the shift from suicidal thoughts to the development of suicidal behaviors. Implications are discussed with respect to the role mindfulness can play in the development of comprehensive, population-based suicide prevention programming and mental health promotion initiatives on college campuses. / text

Background Violence is a global public health problem and violence among youth is a matter of high priority. Adolescence and young adulthood are important periods for the foundation of future health. Youth victimization may have serious health consequences, making it important to address the occurrence and socio-medical context for possible interventions against violence. Aims To analyze prevalence, risk patterns and gender differences in emotional, physical, sexual, and multiple-violence victimizations and the associations between violence victimization and sexual ill health, sexual risk behaviors and mental health in Swedish youth. Methods A cross sectional study using two samples, a national sample from nine youth health centers in Sweden and a population-based sample from a middle-sized Swedish city. The questionnaire included standardized instruments addressing violence exposure (NorAQ), socio-demographics, mental and sexual ill-health and sexual risk behaviors, alcohol and substance use. Proportions and crude and adjusted odds ratios with a 95% CI were calculated. Results A total of 2,250 young women and 920 men, aged 15-23, answered the questionnaire at the youth health centers. In upper secondary school, 1,658 women and 1,589 men, aged 15-22, answered the questionnaire. High prevalence rates with gendered differences both in rates and in co-occurrence of different types of violence were found. Women were more often exposed to emotional violence and sexual violence than men, while men were more often physically victimized. For both women and men, violence victimization before the age of 15 was strongly associated with all types of violence victimizations during the past year. Strong associations were found between multiple-violence victimization and poor mental health in both genders. Among the sexually experienced students, consistent associations between lifetime multiple-violence victimization and various sexual ill-health and sexual risk behaviors were found in both genders, except for non-contraceptive use. Conclusions High prevalence of violence victimization in youth and strong associations between victimization, especially multiple victimization, and poor mental and sexual health were found. This needs to be recognized and addressed in social and medical settings.

Research regarding youth involvement in physical fighting and suicidal ideation has been primarily conducted in western countries, such as the U.S., and limited information is available on this subject in sub-Saharan Africa. This study used data from the Global School-Based Student Health Survey (GSHS) to analyze the prevalence and correlates (i.e., bullying victimization, loneliness, having no friends, sadness, alcohol use, and drug use) of physical fighting and suicidal ideation among students, both boys and girls in Uganda. In this study, 10.1% of urban students and 15.2% of rural students reported engaging in both physical fighting and suicidal ideation. Rural students overall have a higher prevalence of physical fighting, being bullied, suicidal ideation, alcohol use and drug use when compared to urban students. Other risk factors vary among boys and girls in urban and rural settings. Gender and urban/rural differences indicate that interventions among boys and girls and urban and rural students should be adapted to address the needs of the specific groups.

This study is an analysis of adolescent risk behaviors contributing to an increased rate of suicidal ideation for 12 to 18 year olds. The Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System Survey (YRBSS) is an epidemiologic survey designed to monitor the prevalence of risky behaviors of adolescents in middle and high school1. The YRBSS is a complex sample survey with a three-stage cluster design. Multiple logistic regression is used to analyze the data, including methods of analysis to address issues in complex survey design. Results of this study indicate several different risk factors that influence the rate of suicidal ideation among adolescents, including alcohol and drug use, sexual risky behaviors, unhealthy weight loss methods, depressed mood, sex and race/ethnicity. The conclusions of this study indicate that many risk factors associated with suicidal ideation are behaviors that could be addressed with early intervention strategies to reduce the risk of suicidal ideation.

abstract: While the suicide rate in Mexico is relatively low when compared to countries throughout the world, it is increasing at an alarming pace. Unfortunately, the amount of suicide research focused on Mexican populations is relatively scarce. Using a sample of high school students living in Guanajuato, Mexico, this study explored the relationship between recent suicidal ideation and three factors that previous research in other countries has connected to suicide: Migration aspirations, religiosity, and sexual behavior. Using multiple and logistic regression, the results indicated the following: 1) Recent suicidal ideation predicted increased migration aspirations, 2) higher levels of external religiosity predicted lower odds of recent suicidal ideation, and 3) stronger parent-child relationships predicted lower odds of recent suicidal ideation. The findings are discussed in light of the Bronfenbrenner's ecological systems theory, Bogenschneider's risk/protection model, and Stark's religious commitment theory. / Dissertation/Thesis / Ph.D. Social Work 2011