title: Self-concealment and suicidal behaviors.
abstract: Understanding self-concealment, the tendency to actively conceal distressing personal information from others, may be important in developing effective ways to help individuals with suicidal ideation. No published study has yet assessed the relation between self-concealment and suicidal behaviors. Additionally, most self-concealment research has been conducted solely with younger adults. The relation between self-concealment and depressive symptoms among older adults (age 65 and older), and between self-concealment and suicidal behaviors among both younger (college student) and older adults, was investigated in this study. As predicted, self-concealment was significantly related to suicidal behaviors in younger adults. Furthermore, self-concealment was significantly related to depressive symptoms in older adults. Interestingly, the association between self-concealment and suicidal behaviors in this age group was not significant.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology at West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV 26505, USA.
authors.forename: Adam
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Friedlander
authors.forename: Sarra
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Nazem
authors.forename: Amy
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Fiske
authors.forename: Michael R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Nadorff
authors.forename: Merideth D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Smith
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D003863:Depression / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D018907:Privacy / Q000523:psychology*; D016728:Self-Injurious Behavior / Q000523:psychology; D015144:Southeastern United States; D059020:Suicidal Ideation; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult