Social connectedness and suicidal ideation: the roles of perceived burdensomeness and thwarted belongingness in the distress to suicidal ideation pathway

Background Suicide is a serious public health issue. Distress has been identified as a common risk factor, with research also suggesting that a lack of social connectedness is involved. Methods This quantitative, cross-sectional study investigated the role of perceived burdensomeness and thwarted belongingness in the psychological distress/suicidal ideation pathway in a community sample of 480 Australian adults. Results As expected, distress was found to be a strong predictor of suicidal ideation. Perceived burdensomeness and thwarted belongingness both moderated and mediated the relationship between distress and suicidal ideation. Specifically, distress was more strongly linked to suicide ideation when burdensomeness or thwarted belongingness were also high. This moderating effect was stronger for thwarted belongingness than it was for burdensomeness. These variables also mediated the pathway, in that higher distress related to higher burdensomeness and thwarted belonging, which in turn related to higher suicide ideation. This mediating effect was stronger for burdensomeness than for thwarted belonging. Conclusions Overall, the findings confirm the importance of our social relatedness in suicide. Increasing belongingness and reducing the perception of being a burden on others may be an important intervention strategy for weakening the link between distress and suicide ideation

The gender paradox: understanding the role of masculinity in suicidal ideation

It is important to understand the role of social determinants, such as gender, in suicidal ideation. This study examined whether conformity to specific masculine norms, particularly high self-reliance and emotional self-control, moderated the relationship between psychological distress and suicidal ideation for men. The other norms explored were those pertaining to behavioral–emotional or social hierarchy status aspects of masculinity, and whether they moderated the psychological distress–suicidal ideation relationship for men and women. The Conformity to Masculine Norms Inventory, the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale, and the Suicidal Ideation Attributes Scale were administered to an Australian community sample in an online survey ( n = 486). As predicted, higher psychological distress was associated with higher suicidal ideation. Self-reliance enhanced the relationship and was the only moderator among men. High self-reliance levels might be an important indicator of risk, which can be used when assessing and working with men who are hesitant to openly discuss suicidal ideation with clinicians. For female participants, higher endorsement of behavioral–emotional norms and lower conformity to social hierarchy status norms appear to increase suicide risk in the presence of psychological distress. Our findings suggest that high self-reliance is of particular concern for men experiencing psychological distress. It is also important to consider the roles of masculine norm endorsement in the psychological distress–suicidal ideation relationship among women

Policing intimate partner violence involving female victims : an exploratory study of the influence of relationship stage on the victim-police encounter

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a pervasive social problem associated with increased morbidity and mortality risk. Women experiencing IPV often seek assistance from police. Such help-seeking efforts are frequently perceived as problematic by both victims and police. Legal remedies, including orders of protection and criminal charges are the focus of most policing effectiveness research, despite being utilised at only a minority of attendances. Applying a symbolic interactionist and feminist perspective and guided by a constructivist grounded theory approach, this study aimed to explore a broader range of outcomes by examining the way police and victims understand their encounter, the consequences of those understandings and the influence of victims' relationship stage on such encounters. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 12 police officers and 16 female victims, with 14 victims participating in follow-up interviews. Processes previously associated with victimisation such as denial, minimisation and fear, as well as diminished sense of entitlement and the need to monitor their abusive partners' behaviour were found to inhibit victims from engaging fully with police. All victims sought to stop the violence. Their help-seeing aspirations included safety, ego-support and justice, which manifested differentially according to Landenburger's (1989) relationship stage model. Victims‟ safety and recovery was found to be enhanced when police name abuse, show intolerance for all forms of IPV, assume responsibility for victims' safety, including taking prescriptive action, and support victims to attain justice. Such outcomes are more likely to occur in the presence of a mutually empowering alliance. Victims seek an alliance at all relationship stages; however, police are more likely to engage in an alliance when victims are at the disengaging phase. Police decision making is influenced by their values and the attributions they make regarding level of physical violence, victim status and the likelihood of achieving long-term change in the victim-perpetrator dynamic. The limited ability of police to respond to psychological abuse, non-injurious physical violence, and ongoing harassment was perceived as particularly problematic by victims and police alike. Legal sanctions and formal processes to overcome these problems must be implemented if police are to continue their endeavours to uphold the rights of women experiencing IPV