Psychological Inflexibility Predicts Suicidality Over Time in College Students

Abstract

Objective It is essential to identify modifiable risk factors that can be targeted to reduce suicidal ideation (SI) and behavior in college students. Psychological inflexibility, a pattern of responding to internal experiences in a literal and rigid way, and attempting to control those experiences even when it interferes with valued living, could theoretically lead to SI or increase its intensity. Method Psychological inflexibility and its component processes were tested as a predictor of SI in a longitudinal survey of college students (n = 603, age M = 20.62, 68.9% female, and 94.0% White) in a series of cross‐sectional and longitudinal hierarchical regression models, controlling for relevant predictors such as distress and baseline SI. Interactions were also tested between psychological inflexibility and distress, cognitive defusion, values obstruction, and values progress in predicting SI. Results Psychological inflexibility predicted SI cross‐sectionally and longitudinally, controlling for distress and baseline SI. Psychological inflexibility interacted with distress, cognitive fusion, and values progress such that distress, cognitive fusion, and values progress had the strongest association with suicidal ideation among those who were high in psychological inflexibility. Conclusions Psychological inflexibility may be a useful mechanism to target for suicide prevention in college students.

Post-Psychedelic Reductions in Experiential Avoidance Are Associated With Decreases in Depression Severity and Suicidal Ideation

“…In line with ACT’s transdiagnostic model of psychopathology ( 26 ), one potential explanation for the impact of psychedelics on depression severity and suicidality is via decreases in experiential avoidance. Experiential avoidance is prospectively predictive of depression severity [e.g., ( 69 , 70 )] and suicidal ideation [e.g., ( 71 , 72 )]. Moreover, within psychotherapeutic treatments, decreases in experiential avoidance are associated with, and predictive of, subsequent decreases in depression severity ( 73 , 74 ) and suicidal ideation ( 74 , 75 ).…”

Experiential Avoidance in the Context of the Integrated Motivational–Volitional Model of Suicidal Behavior

“…Ellis and Rufino (2016) found that increased experiential avoidance was associated with an increase in suicidal ideation in hospitalized psychiatric patients after controlling for depression and hopelessness. Recently, Krafft, Hicks, Mack, and Levin (2019) have shown -in a sample of young adults -that experiential avoidance is a robust pre-This document is copyrighted by the American Psychological Association or one of its allied publishers.…”

Testing the model of psychological flexibility in the Serbian cultural context: The psychometric properties of the acceptance and action questionnaire

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