Body Regard as a Volitional Factor for Suicide Attempts: Implications for Ideation to Action Frameworks

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Public Health
• Clinical Psychiatry

Background:

• Body regard, encompassing relationships with, attitudes toward, and experiences of one's body, is theorized to influence self-preservation and self-destruction.
• Existing research indicates associations between body regard and suicidal thoughts and behaviors, yet it remains an understudied area.
• This study investigates the moderating role of body regard in the link between suicide ideation and attempts, and its impact on other suicide risk factors.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine body regard as a moderator of the relationship between suicide ideation and suicide attempts.
• To assess the influence of body regard on the interplay between established suicide risk factors and suicide attempts.
• To explore the potential of body regard as a protective or risk factor in the context of suicidal behaviors.

Main Methods:

• A random sample survey of 2021 young adults was conducted.
• Data collected included measures of body regard, fearlessness about death, depression, anxiety, stress, lifetime non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI), and past-year suicide ideation and attempts.
• Logistic regression and moderation analyses were employed to examine the relationships between variables.

Main Results:

• Body regard emerged as a significant predictor of past-year suicide attempts, alongside NSSI and suicide ideation.
• Moderation analyses revealed that body regard significantly moderated the effect of suicide ideation on suicide attempts; this association was significant only when body regard was low.
• High body regard was found to weaken the effect of suicide ideation on attempts, even across varying levels of NSSI.

Conclusions:

• Body regard may function as a volitional factor influencing suicide attempts and can buffer the moderating effects of other risk factors.
• The findings suggest that interventions and assessments for suicide risk should incorporate an evaluation of an individual's body regard.
• Attention to body regard is recommended for etiological models, assessment tools, and therapeutic strategies aimed at mitigating suicide risk.