Drapeau, Christopher W.

Field, Eric R.

Lockman, Jennifer

Nadorff, Michael R.

Oexle, Nathalie

English

ValpoScholar

Valparaiso University
ValpoScholar
Graduate Academic Symposium Graduate School
Spring 5-3-2019
Exploring Post-Traumatic Growth and Associated
Variables in Suicide Attempt Survivors
Eric R. Field
Valparaiso University, eric.field@valpo.edu
Christopher W. Drapeau
Valparaiso University, chris.drapeau@valpo.edu
Jennifer Lockman
Centerstone Research Institute, jennifer.lockman@centerstone.org
Nathalie Oexle
Universitat Ulm, nathalieoexle@googlemail.com
Michael R. Nadorff
Mississippi State University, mnadorff@psychology.msstate.edu
Follow this and additional works at: https://scholar.valpo.edu/gas
This Poster Presentation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at ValpoScholar. It has been accepted for inclusion in
Graduate Academic Symposium by an authorized administrator of ValpoScholar. For more information, please contact a ValpoScholar staff member at
scholar@valpo.edu.
Recommended Citation
Field, Eric R.; Drapeau, Christopher W.; Lockman, Jennifer; Oexle, Nathalie; and Nadorff, Michael R., "Exploring Post-Traumatic
Growth and Associated Variables in Suicide Attempt Survivors" (2019). Graduate Academic Symposium. 67.
https://scholar.valpo.edu/gas/67
 The revised definition of “traumatic events” in the DSM-5 (American Psychiatric 
Association, 2013) includes “exposure to actual or threatened death” or “serious injury”, which 
could apply to suicide attempts. However, a suicide attempt may not be typically referred as a 
traumatic event because of its nature as an internal threat to a person’s life, rather than violence 
and aggression coming from an external threat in the form of another person or environmental 
surrounding. Several inventories directly recognize being a suicide loss survivor as a potentially 
traumatic event. However, the wording in the inventories may be too vague or non-specific to 
suicidal persons’ experiences to measure suicide attempts as a traumatic event. 
 Current research has continued the trend of recognizing a suicide loss and not a suicide 
attempt as a traumatic event from which a person can experience PTG (Smith, Joseph & Das 
Nair, 2011; Stein et al, 2018; Drapeau et al, 2018). With the knowledge that a portion of 
individuals who attempt suicide is at risk for a future attempt, understanding the degree to which 
suicide attempt survivors may experience PTG may allow professionals and social contacts to 
converge efforts and explore prevention of repeated attempts. 
 For the study, we hypothesized a strong positive relationship existing between PTG and 
time elapsed since a survivor's last suicide attempt. Data was previously collected in 2017 from a 
battery of inventories. Participants were found through email invitations to the American 
Association Suicidology listserv and attempt survivors interviewed for the Live Through This 
project. The study invitation was also posted on the American Foundation for Suicide 
Prevention’s website (N=331).    
 Once the 2017 data was obtained last fall, several factors were correlated from the 
inventories with significance determined in a two-tailed test. All correlations were calculated at 
p=0.01. With recording the time in years since most recent suicide attempt (M=7.98, SD=9.75), 
the sample was surveyed a fairly long time following the suicide attempt. The weak correlation 
between time since suicide attempt and PTGI scores r=.103 showed no statistical significance (p 
= 0.19). However, higher PTGI Growth scores were positively and significantly associated with 
having a problem-focused coping style (r=.498)  or an emotion-focused coping style (r=.515).
 The weak correlation between time since last suicide attempt and PTGI scores is not 
surprising due to the length of time elapsed since the suicide attempt. However, the mean time is 
surprising within the sample since the literature uses a history of suicide attempts as a strong 
predictor of repeat attempts (Beghi et al, 2013). A large number of factors could have 
contributed toward many respondents choosing not to repeat suicide attempts. Future research 
could examine the respondents who reported a shorter time during the attempt (0-4 years) to see 
if stronger relationships exist between PTGI Growth scores and some of the previously 
mentioned factors, especially since the attempt is more readily remembered after a short elapsing 
between the surveys and the attempt.  
 Examining the degree to which individuals experience PTG after a suicide attempt, as 
well as associations among coping style, PTG, and suicide attempt status is a novel contribution 
to the literature. However, the paradigm may allow professionals to treat suicide attempt 
survivors for potential Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and consider interventions designed for 
individuals experiencing traumatic events. This paradigm needs to be further explored as 
uncertainty still exists about what prompts repeated fatal and nonfatal suicide attempts.  
 
 
 
 
American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders  
 (5th ed.). Arlington, VA: American Psychiatric Publishing. 
 
Beghi, M., Rosenbaum, J. F., Cerri, C., & Cornaggia, C. M. (2013). Risk factors for fatal and  
 nonfatal repetition of suicide attempts: A literature review. Neuropsychiatric Disease and 
 Treatment, 9(default), 1725-1736. doi:10.2147/NDT.S40213 
 
Drapeau, C. W., Lockman, J. D., Moore, M. M., & Cerel, J. (2018). Predictors of posttraumatic 
 growth in adults bereaved by suicide. Crisis, 1-7. doi:10.1027/0227-5910/a000556 
 
Smith, A., Joseph, S., & Das Nair, R. (2011). An interpretative phenomenological analysis of  
 posttraumatic growth in adults bereaved by suicide. Journal of Loss and Trauma, 16(5), 
 413-430. doi:10.1080/15325024.2011.572047 
 
Stein, C. H., Petrowski, C. E., Gonzales, S. M., Mattei, G. M., Hartl Majcher, J.,  
 Froemming, et al. (2018). A matter of life and death: Understanding continuing bonds 
 and post-traumatic growth when young adults experience the loss of a close friend. 
 Journal of Child and Family Studies, 27(3), 725-738. Doi: 10.1007/s10826-017-0943-x. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  


Exploring Post-Traumatic Growth and Associated Variables in Suicide Attempt Survivors

Valparaiso University

Valparaiso UniversityValpoScholarGraduate Academic Symposium Graduate SchoolSpring 5-3-2019Exploring Post-Traumatic Growth and AssociatedVariables in Suicide Attempt SurvivorsEric R. FieldValparaiso University, eric.field@valpo.eduChristopher W. DrapeauValparaiso University, chris.drapeau@valpo.eduJennifer LockmanCenterstone Research Institute, jennifer.lockman@centerstone.orgNathalie OexleUniversitat Ulm, nathalieoexle@googlemail.comMichael R. NadorffMississippi State University, mnadorff@psychology.msstate.eduFollow this and additional works at: https://scholar.valpo.edu/gasThis Poster Presentation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at ValpoScholar. It has been accepted for inclusion inGraduate Academic Symposium by an authorized administrator of ValpoScholar. For more information, please contact a ValpoScholar staff member atscholar@valpo.edu.Recommended CitationField, Eric R.; Drapeau, Christopher W.; Lockman, Jennifer; Oexle, Nathalie; and Nadorff, Michael R., "Exploring Post-TraumaticGrowth and Associated Variables in Suicide Attempt Survivors" (2019). Graduate Academic Symposium. 67.https://scholar.valpo.edu/gas/67 The revised definition of “traumatic events” in the DSM-5 (American Psychiatric Association, 2013) includes “exposure to actual or threatened death” or “serious injury”, which could apply to suicide attempts. However, a suicide attempt may not be typically referred as a traumatic event because of its nature as an internal threat to a person’s life, rather than violence and aggression coming from an external threat in the form of another person or environmental surrounding. Several inventories directly recognize being a suicide loss survivor as a potentially traumatic event. However, the wording in the inventories may be too vague or non-specific to suicidal persons’ experiences to measure suicide attempts as a traumatic event.  Current research has continued the trend of recognizing a suicide loss and not a suicide attempt as a traumatic event from which a person can experience PTG (Smith, Joseph & Das Nair, 2011; Stein et al, 2018; Drapeau et al, 2018). With the knowledge that a portion of individuals who attempt suicide is at risk for a future attempt, understanding the degree to which suicide attempt survivors may experience PTG may allow professionals and social contacts to converge efforts and explore prevention of repeated attempts.  For the study, we hypothesized a strong positive relationship existing between PTG and time elapsed since a survivor's last suicide attempt. Data was previously collected in 2017 from a battery of inventories. Participants were found through email invitations to the American Association Suicidology listserv and attempt survivors interviewed for the Live Through This project. The study invitation was also posted on the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention’s website (N=331).     Once the 2017 data was obtained last fall, several factors were correlated from the inventories with significance determined in a two-tailed test. All correlations were calculated at p=0.01. With recording the time in years since most recent suicide attempt (M=7.98, SD=9.75), the sample was surveyed a fairly long time following the suicide attempt. The weak correlation between time since suicide attempt and PTGI scores r=.103 showed no statistical significance (p = 0.19). However, higher PTGI Growth scores were positively and significantly associated with having a problem-focused coping style (r=.498)  or an emotion-focused coping style (r=.515). The weak correlation between time since last suicide attempt and PTGI scores is not surprising due to the length of time elapsed since the suicide attempt. However, the mean time is surprising within the sample since the literature uses a history of suicide attempts as a strong predictor of repeat attempts (Beghi et al, 2013). A large number of factors could have contributed toward many respondents choosing not to repeat suicide attempts. Future research could examine the respondents who reported a shorter time during the attempt (0-4 years) to see if stronger relationships exist between PTGI Growth scores and some of the previously mentioned factors, especially since the attempt is more readily remembered after a short elapsing between the surveys and the attempt.   Examining the degree to which individuals experience PTG after a suicide attempt, as well as associations among coping style, PTG, and suicide attempt status is a novel contribution to the literature. However, the paradigm may allow professionals to treat suicide attempt survivors for potential Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and consider interventions designed for individuals experiencing traumatic events. This paradigm needs to be further explored as uncertainty still exists about what prompts repeated fatal and nonfatal suicide attempts.      American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders   (5th ed.). Arlington, VA: American Psychiatric Publishing.  Beghi, M., Rosenbaum, J. F., Cerri, C., & Cornaggia, C. M. (2013). Risk factors for fatal and   nonfatal repetition of suicide attempts: A literature review. Neuropsychiatric Disease and  Treatment, 9(default), 1725-1736. doi:10.2147/NDT.S40213  Drapeau, C. W., Lockman, J. D., Moore, M. M., & Cerel, J. (2018). Predictors of posttraumatic  growth in adults bereaved by suicide. Crisis, 1-7. doi:10.1027/0227-5910/a000556  Smith, A., Joseph, S., & Das Nair, R. (2011). An interpretative phenomenological analysis of   posttraumatic growth in adults bereaved by suicide. Journal of Loss and Trauma, 16(5),  413-430. doi:10.1080/15325024.2011.572047  Stein, C. H., Petrowski, C. E., Gonzales, S. M., Mattei, G. M., Hartl Majcher, J.,   Froemming, et al. (2018). A matter of life and death: Understanding continuing bonds  and post-traumatic growth when young adults experience the loss of a close friend.  Journal of Child and Family Studies, 27(3), 725-738. Doi: 10.1007/s10826-017-0943-x.                               

https://scholar.valpo.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1090&amp;context=gas

Exploring Post-Traumatic Growth and Associated Variables in Suicide Attempt Survivors

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