Untangling the temporal association between daily urges to die by suicide and to use substances

Area of Science:

• Psychiatry
• Clinical Psychology
• Behavioral Science

Background:

• Suicidal ideation and substance use are significant public health concerns.
• Emotion regulation difficulties are often comorbid with suicidal thoughts and substance use disorders.
• Understanding the interplay between these factors is crucial for developing effective interventions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the bidirectional associations between suicide urges, substance use urges, sadness, and anger.
• To explore the temporal relationship between substance use urges and subsequent suicide urges.
• To determine the predictive role of emotions (sadness and anger) on suicide urges.

Main Methods:

• A 21-day daily diary study was conducted with 40 participants.
• Participants reported on daily peak suicide urges, substance use urges, sadness, and anger.
• Data were analyzed to examine associations and predictive relationships between these variables.

Main Results:

• Higher daily peak substance use urges predicted a greater likelihood of reporting suicide urges the following day.
• Increased substance use urges (relative to daily average) were associated with same-day suicide urges.
• Both sadness and anger predicted next-day suicide urges, with sadness appearing to be a stronger predictor.

Conclusions:

• Findings suggest a potential unidirectional pathway from substance use urges to subsequent suicide urges.
• Sadness and anger play a significant role in predicting suicide urges, independent of substance use.
• These results underscore the importance of addressing emotion regulation in individuals with co-occurring suicidal ideation and substance use concerns.