Child Abuse-Suicide Resilience Link in African American Women: Interpersonal Psychological Mediators

• Type of Material: Article
• Authors: Lucy Allbaugh, Emory University; Ivonne Florez, Emory University; Danielle Render Turmaud, Mercer University; Nadia Quyyum, Emory University; Sarah Dunn, Emory University; Jungjin Kim, Emory University; Nadine Kaslow, Emory University
• Language: English
• Date: 2017-01-01
• Publisher: Taylor & Francis (Routledge): STM, Behavioural Science and Public Health Titles
• Publication Version: Author Accepted Manuscript (After Peer Review)
• Copyright Statement: © 2017 Taylor & Francis.
• Final Published Version (URL): http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10926771.2017.1350773
• Title of Journal or Parent Work: Journal of Aggression, Maltreatment and Trauma
• ISSN: 1092-6771
• Volume: 26
• Issue: 10
• Start Page: 1055
• End Page: 1071
• Grant/Funding Information: This research was supported by a grant from the National Institute of Mental Health (1R01MH078002–01A2, Group interviews for abused, suicidal Black women) awarded to the last author (Kaslow).
• Keywords: Family Studies; RISK; Social Sciences; BEHAVIOR; TRAUMA QUESTIONNAIRE; Psychology; PSYCHOMETRIC PROPERTIES; Science & Technology; Psychiatry; suicide resilience; Criminology & Penology; EMOTION; SEXUAL-ABUSE; THWARTED BELONGINGNESS; PERCEIVED BURDENSOMENESS; interpersonal Psychological Theory of Suicide; VALIDITY; ACQUIRED CAPABILITY; Life Sciences & Biomedicine; Psychology, Clinical; Child abuse
• Research Categories: Psychology, Clinical; Health Sciences, Mental Health

Abstract

The interpersonal-psychological theory of suicidal behavior (IPTS) is an exemplary model for understanding the desire for suicidal behavior. As such, it is important to explore its applicability in ethnoracial minority groups at increasing risk for suicidal behavior, such as low-income, African American women. Guided by the IPTS, the current study used 5 parallel mediation models to examine if there are links between individual types of childhood abuse (physical, sexual, emotional) and suicide resilience, and between cumulative abuse (higher levels of abuse inclusive of all three types, more types of severe levels of abuse) and suicide resilience, and whether the three components of the model (thwarted belongingness, perceived burdensomeness, acquired capability for suicide) mediate these associations. In a sample of low-income, African American women (n = 179), higher levels of each of the 3 types of childhood abuse and cumulative abuse correlated with lower levels of suicide resilience. Parallel mediation analyses using bootstrapping techniques revealed that increased acquired capability for suicide mediated all 5 associations and perceived burdensomeness mediated 3 of the links (emotional abuse, cumulative abuse, and cumulative abuse–severe with suicide resilience). Attention is paid to the clinical implications of the findings in terms of attending to the acquired capability for suicide and suicide resilience in the assessment and treatment of low-income, suicidal, African American women.