Trajectory Analysis of Suicidal Ideation in Spanish College Students Using Ecological Momentary Assessment

Abstract

IntroductionSuicide is a preventable death in young people. It is well known that suicide behavior is a multicausal phenomenon. However, suicidal ideation (SI) commonly underlies suicide, and Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA) can help us to better characterize it and its risk and protective factors in the short term. We aimed, first, to investigate the estimated prevalence and trajectories of SI in a community sample of Spanish college students using an EMA methodology and, second, explore the associations between risk and protective factors and SI categorized as moderate or low.Materials and MethodsA total of 737 participants followed the EMA during a period of 6 months. We estimated the prevalence and trajectories of SI and the associations between depressive symptoms, positive and negative affect, thwarted belongingness, perceived burdensomeness, cognitive reappraisal, emotional suppression, and purpose in life with the MEmind smartphone App. SI was assessed 14 times during this period.ResultsTwenty-eight participants referred to SI at least once in longitudinal assessments. We found a lack of curvature and, thus, a relatively stable trajectory of SI. Two groups of latent dimensions were observed related to risk and protective factors of SI. One latent dimension of the risk factors (higher levels of thwarted belongingness, perceived burdensomeness, depressive symptoms, negative affect, and emotional suppression) best represented the group with moderate levels of SI, and a second latent dimension of protective variables (positive affect, cognitive reappraisal, and purpose in life) best represented the group with lower levels of SI.DiscussionThese findings may indicate that students with a sense of having a life worth living, in addition to having the ability to reevaluate their negative beliefs, are less likely to experience high levels of SI. Therefore, purpose in life would be a protective factor against the presence of SI.

The Relationships Between Suicidal Ideation, Meaning in Life, and Affect: a Network Analysis

“…In contrast, in the present study, positive affect was negatively associated with all three dimensions of suicidal ideation (pessimism, sleep, and despair). These results are consistent with previous findings that positive affect is a protective factor against suicidal ideation (Brent et al, 2013 ; Cha et al, 2018 ; Horwitz et al, 2021 ; Layron Folgado et al, 2022 ; Schatten et al, 2021 ). Furthermore, lower positive affect is prospectively related to suicidal ideation and individuals with suicidal ideation report significant lower positive affect than those without suicidal ideation (Bennardi et al, 2019 ; Tian et al, 2017 ).…”

Meaning in life mediates the association between depressive symptoms and future frequency of suicidal ideation in Spanish university students: A longitudinal study

“…Recently, Layrón‐Folgado et al. (2022) found that higher levels of meaning in life were representative of university students with low levels of suicide ideation.…”