"What about Your Friends?" Social Support Moderates Perceived Burdensomeness and Suicidal Ideation Relationship
Abstract
Suicide is a nationwide concern in the young adult population (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2014). An identified risk factor for suicide for young adults is the perception that one is a burden on others (i.e., perceived burdensomeness; Joiner, 2005). Additional research has demonstrated that social support is negatively associated with suicide. However, there are mixed findings on whether social support from family or friends is more beneficial at lowering suicidal ideation in young adults. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether social support from family and friends 1) negatively predicted suicidal ideation and 2) moderated the relationship between perceived burdensomeness and suicidal ideation in a sample of young adults. This study also investigated whether social support from friends accounted for more variance in predicting suicidal ideation than social support from family. Results showed that social support from friends and not family negatively predicted suicidal ideation, while controlling for symptoms of depression and sex. Social support from friends also moderated the relationship between perceived burdensomeness, while social support from family did not. Finally, in the context of social support from family, social support from friends no longer predicted suicidal ideation. Clinical implications of these findings are discussed.
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