The Functions of Social Support as Protective Factors for Suicidal Ideation in a Sample of Air Force Personnel

Abstract

This study examined various functions of social support (i.e., tangible, esteem, belonging, and appraisal) were examined as protective factors for suicidal ideation in a sample of 273 active duty Air Force Security Forces personnel. Generalized linear regression analyses were conducted to determine if various social support functions were differentially associated with the presence and severity of suicidal ideation, both as main effects and as moderators of emotional distress. None of the four social support functions differentiated suicidal from nonsuicidal Airmen, but esteem support (i.e., feeling respected, encouraged, and valued by others) was associated with significantly less severe suicidal ideation (B = -.074, SE = .025, p = .003). A significant interaction of tangible support (i.e., access to material resources) with emotional distress indicated that emotional distress was associated with more severe suicidal ideation only among Airmen reporting low levels of tangible support (B = .006, SE = .003, p = .018). When considered concurrently, both tangible and self-esteem functions of social support are differentially associated with decreased suicidal ideation among Airmen, but belonging (i.e., having someone to do things with) and appraisal (i.e., having someone to talk to about problems) functions were not. Findings suggest that different aspects of social support affect suicidal ideation in different ways.

Suicidal Ideation and Sense of Community in Faith Communities

“…Perceived burdensomeness was more strongly related to suicidal ideation than thwarted belongingness, a finding which fits with previous research (Bryan and Hernandez 2013;Bryan et al 2010;. This finding also fits with the concept that burdensomeness is a necessary and key characteristic for suicidal ideation to develop (Van Orden et al 2010), perhaps because it is not possible for one to feel belonging if one feels like a burden (Van Orden et al 2012).…”

“…Stroope and Baker (2014) found that network density (number of close friends in the faith community) and church size had significant effects on feelings of group belonging in a church. Bryan and Hernandez (2013) found that the esteem-type of social support (i.e., feeling respected and valued) differentiated suicidal from non-suicidal Airmen.…”

Predictors of Suicidal Ideation Across Deployment: A Prospective Study

“…Neither the levels of intimate partner relationship distress (for partnered Airmen) nor perceived social support was associated with suicidal ideation. Bryan and Hernandez () also found that perceived social support did not differentiate suicidal from nonsuicidal participants in a study of nondeployed Airmen. However, these findings are inconsistent with the frequent co‐occurrence of a failed spousal or other intimate relationship with completed suicide and suicide attempts in retrospective studies (Bush et al., ).…”

“…Low levels of perceived social support (Bossarte et al., ; Pietrzak et al., ) and unit cohesion (Mitchell, Gallaway, Millikan, & Bell, ) and greater psychosocial difficulties (Pietrzak et al., ) have independently predicted suicidal ideation in cross‐sectional surveys of OIF/OEF veterans. A recent study (Bryan & Hernandez, ) of active duty Airmen found that social support did not differentiate suicidal from nonsuicidal participants. Rather, level of social support appeared to influence the severity of suicidal ideation among those Airmen affected.…”

The moderating effects of coping and self-esteem on the relationship between defeat, entrapment and suicidality in a sample of prisoners at high risk of suicide

“…There is a robust literature documenting associations between low self-esteem and suicidality in adults [5,8,12,26,37,43,49]. For example, one study reported that in depressed inpatients, those expressing suicidal ideation with a history of suicide attempts had significantly lower self-esteem compared to inpatients who had no such thoughts or histories [37].…”