Child Abuse - Suicide Resilience Link in African American Women: Interpersonal Psychological Mediators

Abstract

The interpersonal-psychological theory of suicidal behavior (IPTS) is an exemplary model for understanding the desire for suicidal behavior. As such, it is important to explore its applicability in ethnoracial minority groups at increasing risk for suicidal behavior, such as low-income African American women. Guided by the IPTS, the current study used five parallel mediation models to examine if there are links between individual types of childhood abuse (physical, sexual, emotional) and suicide resilience and between cumulative abuse (higher levels of abuse inclusive of all three types, more types of severe levels of abuse) and suicide resilience, and whether the three components of the model (thwarted belongingness, perceived burdensomeness, acquired capability for suicide) mediate these associations. In a sample of low-income, African American women (n = 179), higher levels of each of the three types of childhood abuse and cumulative abuse correlated with lower levels of suicide resilience. Parallel mediation analyses using bootstrapping techniques revealed that increased acquired capability for suicide mediated all five associations and perceived burdensomeness mediated three of the links (emotional abuse, cumulative abuse, and cumulative abuse-severe with suicide resilience). Attention is paid to the clinical implications of the findings in terms of attending to the acquired capability for suicide and suicide resilience in the assessment and treatment of low-income, suicidal, African American women.

Figure 1.

Childhood Physical Abuse Model Parameters Notes. Presented are unstandardized parameter estimates; standard errors in parentheses; *p < .05; **p < .01.

Figure 2.

Childhood Sexual Abuse Model Parameters Notes. Presented are unstandardized parameter estimates; standard errors in parentheses; *p < .05; **p < .01.

Figure 3.

Childhood Emotional Abuse Model Parameters Notes. Presented are unstandardized parameter estimates; standard errors in parentheses; *p < .05; **p < .01.

Figure 4.

Cumulative Abuse Model Parameters Notes. Presented are unstandardized parameter estimates; standard errors in parentheses; *p < .05; **p < .01.

Figure 5.

Cumulative-Severe Abuse Model Parameters Notes. Presented are unstandardized parameter estimates; standard errors in parentheses; *p < .05; **p < .01.