Factors underlying suicidal ideation among college students: a test of Teicher and Jacobs' model

The study examined three factors thought to be involved in the etiology of suicidal ideation in adolescents: an absence or disruption of interpersonal attachments, a conviction of personal helplessness, and a sense of hopelessness regarding the future. Subjects, 191 college students age 21 or less, completed questionnaires assessing suicidal ideation, parent and peer attachments, locus of control, and hopelessness. Nearly 61 per cent of the subjects reported at least some degree of suicidal ideation, and 21 per cent reported moderate or high levels of ideation. Both low-level and moderate- to high-level ideators reported poorer relationships with their parents than non-ideators. In addition, compared to non-ideator and low-ideator subjects, moderate to high ideators reported poorer relationships with peers and greater convictions of helplessness and hopelessness about the future. No gender differences were found other than a suggestion that insecure attachment to parents may be a more important factor in the genesis of suicidal ideation in college women than men.