title: Distress mediates the association between personality predispositions and suicidality: a preliminary study in a Portuguese community sample.
abstract: The present study examined whether distress mediates the relationship between suicidality and the personality predispositions of Self-Criticism, Dependency/Neediness, and Efficacy. A community sample of Portuguese young adults (N = 105) completed, in a counterbalanced order, a sociodemographic questionnaire, the Depressive Experiences Questionnaire (DEQ), the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI), and reports of any suicide attempts and/or ideation. Structural equation modeling indicated that Self-Criticism is significantly associated with suicidality, but Dependency and Efficacy are not. High levels of Self-Criticism and of Dependency and low levels of Efficacy are associated with distress. Distress mediates the association between Self-Criticism and suicidality; whereas Dependency and Efficacy are indirectly associated with suicidality through their associations with distress. Self-Critical and Dependent individuals are at greater risk for suicide because of their vulnerability to distressful events; whereas certain levels of Efficacy may decrease vulnerability to distress and suicide risk.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Évora, Évora, Portugal. rcampos@uevora.pt
authors.forename: Rui C
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Campos
authors.forename: Avi
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Besser
authors.forename: Sidney J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Blatt
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003858:Dependency, Psychological; D003863:Depression / Q000503:physiopathology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010551:Personality / Q000502:physiology; D011174:Portugal; D012307:Risk Factors; D012649:Self Concept; D020377:Self Efficacy; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000503:physiopathology*; D059020:Suicidal Ideation; D013406:Suicide, Attempted / Q000523:psychology*