The prevalence of sexual harassment among college women has been reported to range from 33% to 97% (Klein, Apple, & Khan, 2011; Yoon, Funk, & Kropf, 2010) across the lifespan. In any one year of college, the prevalence of sexual harassment reported by women ranges from 33% to 57% (Crown & Roberts, 2007; Huerta, Cortina, Pang, Torges, & Magley, 2006). The severity and frequency of sexual harassment has been found to be related to reports of psychological distress (Nielsen & Einarsen, 2012), feelings of shame (Yoon et al., 2010), anxiety and depression symptoms (Murdoch, Pryor, Polusny, & Gackstetter, 2007), and social isolation (Pershing, 2003). These consequences of sexual harassment are concerning given the association between depression, isolation, and suicidality (Boardman, Grimbaldeston, Handley, Jones, & Willmott, 1999; DeWall, Gilman, Sharif, Carboni, & Rice, 2012). While there are numerous studies documenting the negative consequences experienced by women who are sexually harassed, little is known about the relationship of sexual harassment to the more severe negative outcomes of suicidal ideation and self-harm behaviors and what variables might facilitate this hypothesized relationship. Thus, the purpose of this study is to explore whether the experience of sexual harassment is related to increased suicidality and if this hypothesized relationship is mediated or moderated by other factors such as an individual’s response style and/or degree of connection to or isolation from others.

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Background: Although insomnia has been identified as a robust predictor of suicidal ideation and behaviors, little is known about the mechanisms by which sleep disturbances confer risk for suicide. We investigated thwarted belongingness as an explanatory link between insomnia symptoms and suicidal ideation across three military service member and veteran samples. Methods: Data were collected among United States military service members and veterans (N1=937, N2=3,386, N3=417) who completed self-report measures of insomnia symptoms, thwarted belongingness, suicidal ideation, and related psychiatric symptoms (e.g., anxiety, hopelessness). Bias-corrected bootstrap mediation analyses were utilized to examine the indirect effects of insomnia symptoms on suicidal ideation through thwarted belongingness, controlling for related psychiatric symptoms. Results: Consistent with study hypotheses, thwarted belongingness significantly accounted for the relationship between insomnia and suicidal ideation across all three samples; however, insomnia symptoms did not significantly account for the relationship between thwarted belongingness and suicidal ideation, highlighting the specificity of our findings. Limitations: This study utilized cross-sectional self-report data. Conclusions: Insomnia may confer suicide risk for military service members and veterans, in part, through the pathway of thwarted belongingness. Additional prospective studies are warranted to further delineate this model of risk. Our results offer a potential therapeutic target for the prevention of suicide, via the promotion of belongingness, among service members and veterans experiencing insomnia symptoms.

Sleep disturbances are prevalent in primary care patients and can be exacerbated by interpersonal dysfunction and depression. As well, thwarted interpersonal needs (TIN), including thwarted belongingness and perceived burdensomeness, contribute to depression. However, the presence of gratitude, a cognitive-emotional protective factor, may improve symptoms. We longitudinally examined the mediating role of depressive symptoms on the relation between TIN and sleep disturbances, and the moderating role of gratitude on the TIN-sleep disturbances and depression-sleep disturbances linkages. Our primary care patient sample (N = 223) completed self-report surveys at baseline (T1) and at a one-year follow-up (T2; n = 97). Patients with greater TIN reported more depressive symptoms (T1) and, in turn, increased sleep disturbances (T2). Gratitude did not moderate the belongingness model but, in the burdensomeness model, buffered the linkage between burdensomeness and sleep disturbances and strengthened the relation between depressive symptoms and sleep disturbances. Clinical implications and future research directions are discussed.

Background: Insomnia is a robust correlate of suicidal ideation and behavior. Preliminary research has identified thwarted belongingness (c.f. social disconnection) as an explanatory link between insomnia and suicidal ideation. Objectives: This study replicates and extends previous findings using both cross-sectional and longitudinal designs in four demographically diverse samples. Additionally, the specificity of thwarted belongingness was evaluated by testing anxiety as a rival mediator. Method: Self-report measures of insomnia symptoms, thwarted belongingness, suicidal ideation and behavior, and anxiety were administered in four adult samples: 469 undergraduate students, 352 psychiatric outpatients, 858 firefighters, and 217 primary care patients. Results: More severe insomnia was associated with more severe thwarted belongingness and suicidality. Thwarted belongingness significantly accounted for the association between insomnia and suicidality, cross-sectionally and longitudinally, beyond anxiety. Notably, findings supported the specificity of thwarted belongingness: anxiety did not significantly mediate the association between insomnia and suicidality, and insomnia did not mediate the relation between thwarted belongingness and suicidality. Limitations: This study relied solely on self-report measures. Future studies incorporating objective sleep measurements are needed. Conclusion: Findings underscore the utility of assessing and addressing sleep disturbances and social disconnection to reduce suicide risk.

Individuals experiencing chronic pain are at greater risk for suicidal behavior. The mechanism of action for this association is unexplored, but may involve the influence of pain on interpersonal functioning. We examined the mediating role of unsatisfied interpersonal needs on the relation between pain severity and interference, and suicidal behavior. Low income, uninsured participants completed self-report measures of pain severity and interference, thwarted interpersonal needs and suicidal behavior. Our hypotheses were partially supported; in simple mediation models, an indirect only effect existed for both thwarted belongingness and perceived burdensomeness in the relation between pain severity and pain interference and suicidal behavior. These effects did not persist in multiple mediation analyses. Our findings suggest that, for patients experiencing pain, assessment and improvement of the quantity and quality of interpersonal relationships may reduce risk for suicide ideation and attempts.

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Mémoire numérisé par la Division de la gestion de documents et des archives de l'Université de Montréal.

Mémoire numérisé par la Division de la gestion de documents et des archives de l'Université de Montréal