Defeat, Entrapment, and Hopelessness: Clarifying Interrelationships between Suicidogenic Constructs

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Psychiatry
• Mental Health Research

Background:

• Psychological theories of suicidal thinking often involve similar constructs like defeat, entrapment, and hopelessness.
• These constructs demonstrate high interrelationships in existing research.
• Clarifying similarities at subscale and item levels can advance theoretical understanding.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the interrelationships among defeat, entrapment, and hopelessness in relation to suicidal ideation (SI).
• To examine the factor structure of these constructs at both subscale and item levels.
• To explore potential distinctions between hopelessness and the defeat-entrapment constructs.

Main Methods:

• Cross-sectional online survey administered to 344 undergraduate students, oversampled for suicidal history.
• Utilized exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and parallel analysis at the subscale and item levels.
• Employed exploratory structural equation modeling (ESEM) bifactor analysis for item-level examination.

Main Results:

• EFA and parallel analyses supported a one-factor solution for defeat, entrapment, and hopelessness at the subscale and combined item levels.
• ESEM bifactor analysis indicated a single general factor underlying the items.
• Item-level communalities and bifactor fit indices suggested hopelessness might be partially distinct from defeat and entrapment.

Conclusions:

• The findings support a unified factor underlying defeat, entrapment, and hopelessness in the context of suicidal thinking.
• Hopelessness demonstrates some unique variance, suggesting potential for distinct clinical or theoretical consideration.
• Further research is needed to fully elucidate the nuanced relationships and implications for suicide prevention strategies.