Psychological Strains and Suicidal Intent: An Empirical Study to Relate the 2 Psychopathological Variables

Psychological strains are hypothesized to precede a suicidal intent that may lead to suicide, where psychological strains can be considered a function of social structure embedded with negative life events. This study aimed to test the potential relationship between psychological strains and suicidal intent in Chinese rural suicide attempters. Data regarding medically serious suicide attempters (N = 791) were gathered from county-level emergency rooms in randomly selected counties in rural China (15-54 years of age). Face-to-face interview data were obtained with semistructured instruments. Results showed that the strain variables interacted with gender in predicting degree of suicide intent in Chinese rural suicide attempters. Specifically, aspiration strain and coping strain were associated with suicide intent in Chinese male suicide attempters, whereas value strain was associated with suicide intent in Chinese female suicide attempters. This study supported the strain hypothesis in Chinese rural suicide attempters.