Future disposition and suicidal ideation: mediation by depressive symptom clusters

Background: In line with hopelessness theory, both increased negative expectancies and reduced positive expectancies for the future have been associated with suicidal ideation. This study evaluated two depression symptom clusters as mediators of the relationship between future disposition and suicide: subjective feelings of depression and self-blame.

Methods: Data from 140 undergraduate students with moderate to severe depression symptoms are presented who completed the Beck Scale for Suicidal Ideation, Beck Depression Inventory, and the Future Disposition Inventory.

Results: On mediation analysis, subjective depression mediated the relationship between positive disposition and suicidal ideation. In contrast, the relationship between negative disposition and suicidal ideation was mediated by self-blame. The reverse of these relationships was not significant.

Limitations: This is a cross-sectional study of an undergraduate sample and results warrant replication in clinical samples with clinician-administered assessments.

Conclusions: Findings suggest two potential pathways to suicidal thoughts with implications for assessment and treatment. Depressed individuals with few positive expectations of the future may benefit from interventions focusing on subjective depression symptoms, such as sadness or anhedonia. For depressed individuals with negative expectations for the future, a clinical focus on negative attributions or self-blame may be warranted.