Drawing on the self-determination theory and conservation of resources, our research shed light on the linkage between organizational autonomy support and suicide ideation. Specifically, this study examined whether the negative influence of autonomy support on suicide ideation is mediated via meaning in life, and if employee’s autonomy orientations constitute a boundary condition of this relationship. To test the hypothesized model, data were collected from professional employees (N = 687) across six organizations of various business sectors. The findings supported our proposed hypotheses and showed that individuals’ meaning in life mediated the linkage between autonomy support and suicide ideation. As suggested, hypothesized relations were moderated by employee’s disposition in such a way that autonomy support influences meaning in life of employees high on autonomy orientation, but not of employees low on autonomy orientation. The study discussed implications and future research avenues.
AikenL. S.WestS. G.RenoR. R. (1991). Multiple regression: Testing and interpreting interactions.
Thousand Oaks, CA:
SAGE. [Database]
2.
ArriaA. M.O’GradyK. E.CaldeiraK. M.VincentK. B.WilcoxH. C.WishE. D. (2009).
Suicide ideation among college students: A multivariate analysis. Archives of Suicide Research,
13(3), 230–246.
3.
BaardP. P.DeciE. L.RyanR. M. (2004).
Intrinsic need satisfaction: A motivational basis of performance and Weil‐Being in two work settings 1. Journal of Applied Social Psychology,
34(10), 2045–2068.
4.
BaronS. W. (2004).
General strain, street youth and crime: A test of Agnew’s revised theory. Criminology,
42(2), 457–484.
5.
BaronR. M.KennyD. A. (1986).
The moderator-mediator variable distinction in social psychological research: Conceptual, strategic, and statistical considerations. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology,
51(6), 1173–1182.
6.
BaumeisterR. F.VohsK. D. (2002).
The pursuit of meaningfulness in life. Handbook of Positive Psychology,
1, 608–618.
7.
BeautraisA. L. (2003).
Suicide and serious suicide attempts in youth: A multiple-group comparison study. American Journal of Psychiatry,
160(6), 1093–1099.
8.
BeckA. T.KovacsM.WeissmanA. (1979).
Assessment of suicidal intention: The Scale for Suicide Ideation. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology,
47(2), 343–352.
9.
BerglundV.Johansson SeväI.StrandhM. (2016).
Subjective well-being and job satisfaction among self-employed and regular employees: Does personality matter differently?Journal of Small Business & Entrepreneurship,
28(1), 55–73.
10.
BrannanD.Biswas-DienerR.MohrC. D.MortazaviS.SteinN. (2013).
Friends and family: A cross-cultural investigation of social support and subjective well-being among college students. The Journal of Positive Psychology,
8(1), 65–75.
11.
BrassaiL.PikoB. F.StegerM. F. (2012).
Existential attitudes and Eastern European adolescents’ problem and health behaviors: Highlighting the role of the search for meaning in life. The Psychological Record,
62(4), 719–734.
12.
BrislinR. W. (1986).
Research instruments. Field Methods in Cross-Cultural Research,
8, 137–164.
13.
BurkeR. J.GreenglassE. R.SchwarzerR. (1996).
Predicting teacher burnout over time: Effects of work stress, social support, and self-doubts on burnout and its consequences. Anxiety, Stress, and Coping,
9(3), 261–275.
14.
Cavazos Vela, J., Castro, V., Cavazos, L., Cavazos, M., & Gonzalez, S. L. (2015). Understanding Latina/o students' meaning in life, spirituality, and subjective happiness. Journal of Hispanic Higher Education, 14(2), 171–184.
15.
ColucciE.LesterD. (2012). Culture, cultural meaning (s), and suicide. In ColucciE.LesterD. (Eds.), Suicide and Culture: Understanding the context (pp. 25–46).
Cambridge, MA:
Hogrefe Publishing.
16.
DeciE. L.ConnellJ. P.RyanR. M. (1989).
Self-determination in a work organization. Journal of Applied Psychology,
74(4), 580–590.
17.
DeciE. L.RyanR. M. (2008).
Self-determination theory: A macrotheory of human motivation, development, and health. Canadian Psychology/Psychologie Canadienne,
49(3), 182–185.
18.
DeciE. L.RyanR. M.GagnéM.LeoneD. R.UsunovJ.KornazhevaB. P. (2001).
Need satisfaction, motivation, and well-being in the work organizations of a former eastern bloc country: A cross-cultural study of self-determination. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin,
27(8), 930–942.
19.
DeciE. L.RyanR. M. (1985a).
The General Causality Orientations scale: Self-determination in personality. Journal of Research in Personality,
19(2), 109–134.
20.
DeciE. L., & RyanR. M. (1985b). Intrinsic motivation and self-determination in human behavior.
Berlin, Germany:
Springer Science & Business Media.
21.
De KlerkJ. J. (2005).
Spirituality, meaning in life, and work wellness: A research agenda. International Journal of Organizational Analysis,
13(1), 64–68.
22.
Diener, E., & Biswas-Diener, R. (2011). Happiness: Unlocking the mysteries of psychological wealth. John Wiley & Sons.
23.
DienerE.TayL. (2015).
Subjective well‐being and human welfare around the world as reflected in the Gallup World Poll. International Journal of Psychology,
50(2), 135–149.
24.
DominoG.SuA.Lee JohnsonS. (2002).
Psychosocial correlates of suicide ideation: A comparison of Chinese and US rural women. OMEGA-Journal of Death and Dying,
44(4), 371–389.
25.
DyerC. B.PickensS.BurnettJ. (2007).
Vulnerable elders: When it is no longer safe to live alone. JAMA,
298(12), 1448–1450.
EvansE.HawtonK.RodhamK. (2004).
Factors associated with suicidal phenomena in adolescents: A systematic review of population-based studies. Clinical Psychology Review,
24(8), 957–979.
28.
FranklV. E. (1984). Man’s search for meaning (3rd ed.).
New York, NY:
First Washington Square Press.
29.
FrazierP. A.LeeR. M.StegerM. F. (2006).
What can counseling psychology contribute to the study of optimal human functioning?The Counseling Psychologist,
34(2), 293–303.
30.
GagnéM. (2003).
Autonomy support and need satisfaction in the motivation and well-being of gymnasts. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology,
15(4), 372–390.
31.
GagnéM.DeciE. L. (2005).
Self‐determination theory and work motivation. Journal of Organizational Behavior,
26(4), 331–362.
32.
GagnéM.ForestJ.GilbertM. H.AubéC.MorinE.MalorniA. (2010).
The motivation at work scale: Validation evidence in two languages. Educational and Psychological Measurement,
70(4), 628–646.
33.
GurlandS. T.GrolnickW. S. (2003).
Children’s expectancies and perceptions of adults: Effects on rapport. Child Development,
74(4), 1212–1224.
34.
HalbeslebenJ. R. (2006).
Sources of social support and burnout: A meta-analytic test of the conservation of resources model. Journal of Applied Psychology,
91(5), 1134–1145.
35.
HardréP. L.ReeveJ. (2009).
Training corporate managers to adopt a more autonomy‐supportive motivating style toward employees: An intervention study. International Journal of Training and Development,
13(3), 165–184.
36.
HildenbrandK.SacramentoC. A.BinnewiesC. (2018).
Transformational leadership and burnout: The role of thriving and followers’ openness to experience. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology,
23(1), 31.
37.
HirschJ. K.ChangE. C.JeglicE. L. (2012).
Social problem solving and suicidal behavior: Ethnic differences in the moderating effects of loneliness and life stress. Archives of Suicide Research,
16(4), 303–315.
38.
HobfollS. E. (2001).
The influence of culture, community, and the nested‐self in the stress process: Advancing conservation of resources theory. Applied Psychology,
50(3), 337–421.
39.
HowardM.KrannitzM. (2017).
A reanalysis of occupation and suicide: Negative perceptions of the workplace linked to suicide attempts. The Journal of Psychology,
151(8), 767–788.
40.
HvistendahlM. (2012).
Making sense of a senseless act. Science,
338(6110), 1025–1027.
41.
Institute of Medicine. (2002). Reducing suicide: A national imperative.
Washington, DC:
The National Academies Press.
42.
JuH.ShinJ. W.KimC. W.HyunM. H.ParkJ. W. (2013).
Mediational effect of meaning in life on the relationship between optimism and well-being in community elderly. Archives of Gerontology and Geriatrics,
56(2), 309–313.
43.
KesslerR. C.BerglundP.BorgesG.NockM.WangP. S. (2005).
Trends in suicide ideation, plans, gestures, and attempts in the United States, 1990–1992 to 2001–2003. JAMA,
293(20), 2487–2495.
44.
KinsE.BeyersW.SoenensB.VansteenkisteM. (2009).
Patterns of home leaving and subjective well-being in emerging adulthood: The role of motivational processes and parental autonomy support. Developmental Psychology,
45(5), 1416.
45.
KoestnerR.BernieriF.ZuckermanM. (1992).
Self-regulation and consistency between attitudes, traits, and behaviors. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin,
18(1), 52–59.
46.
KrauseN. (2007).
Evaluating the stress-buffering function of meaning in life among older people. Journal of Aging and Health,
19(5), 792–812.
47.
KuvaasB. (2008).
A test of hypotheses derived from self-determination theory among public sector employees. Employee Relations,
31(1), 39–56.
48.
LamC. F.GurlandS. T. (2008).
Self-determined work motivation predicts job outcomes, but what predicts self-determined work motivation?Journal of Research in Personality,
42(4), 1109–1115.
49.
LehavotK.SimpsonT. L.ShipherdJ. C. (2016).
Factors associated with suicidality among a national sample of transgender veterans. Suicide and Life‐Threatening Behavior,
46(5), 507–524.
50.
LianY.SunQ.GuanS.GeH.TaoN.JiangY.LiuJ. (2018).
Effect of changing work stressors and coping resources on the risk of type 2 diabetes: The OHSPIW cohort study. Diabetes Care,
41(3), 453–460.
51.
LiuB. P.WangX. T.JiaC. X. (2017).
Suicide attempters with high and low suicide intent: Different populations in rural China. Psychiatry Research,
251, 176–181.
52.
LiuD. O. N. G.FuP. P. (2007). Motivating learning in the organization: Effects of autonomy support and autonomy orientation. In Academy of Management Annual Meeting Proceedings: Best Papers Proceedings.
53.
LiuY.UsmanM.ZhangJ.GulH. (2018). Making sense of Chinese employees’ suicidal ideation: A psychological strain—life meaning model. Psychological Reports. 123(3), 201–223. doi:10.1177/0033294118811096
54.
Lin, L., & Shek, D. T. (2018). The influence of meaning in life on adolescents' hedonic well-being and risk behaviour: Implications for social work. The British Journal of Social Work, 49(1), 5–24.
55.
Lopez-CastromanJ.OliéE.CourtetP. (2014). Stress and vulnerability: A developing model for suicidal risk. In CannonK. E.HudzikT. J. (Eds.), Suicide: Phenomenology and neurobiology (pp. 87–100).
Cham, Switzerland:
Springer.
56.
MarbellK. N.GrolnickW. S. (2013).
Correlates of parental control and autonomy support in an interdependent culture: A look at Ghana. Motivation and Emotion,
37(1), 79–92.
57.
MascaroN.RosenD. H. (2006).
The role of existential meaning as a buffer against stress. Journal of Humanistic Psychology,
46(2), 168–190.
58.
MazzaJ. J. (2006). Youth suicidal behavior: A crisis in need of attention. In VillarruelF. A.LusterT. (Eds.), Adolescent mental health (pp. 156–177).
Westport, CT:
Greenwood Publishing Group.
59.
MoreauE.MageauG. A. (2012).
The importance of perceived autonomy support for the psychological health and work satisfaction of health professionals: Not only supervisors count, colleagues too!Motivation and Emotion,
36(3), 268–286.
60.
MorgesonF. P.HumphreyS. E. (2006).
The Work Design Questionnaire (WDQ): Developing and validating a comprehensive measure for assessing job design and the nature of work. Journal of Applied Psychology,
91(6), 1321–1339.
61.
MorganJ.FarsidesT. (2009).
Measuring meaning in life. Journal of Happiness Studies,
10(2), 197–214.
62.
OlafsenA. H.HalvariH.ForestJ.DeciE. L. (2015).
Show them the money? The role of pay, managerial need support, and justice in a self-determination theory model of intrinsic work motivation. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology,
56(4), 447–457.
63.
OlesenM. H.ThomsenD. K.SchnieberA.TønnesvangJ. (2010).
Distinguishing General Causality Orientations from personality traits. Personality and Individual Differences,
48(5), 538–543.
64.
ParkC. L. (2007).
Religiousness/spirituality and health: A meaning systems perspective. Journal of Behavioral Medicine,
30(4), 319–328.
65.
ParkS.-M.ChoS. I.MoonS. S. (2010).
Factors associated with suicidal ideation: Role of emotional and instrumental support. Journal of Psychosomatic Research,
69(4), 389–397.
66.
PerryS. J.WittL. A.PenneyL. M.AtwaterL. (2010).
The downside of goal-focused leadership: The role of personality in subordinate exhaustion. Journal of Applied Psychology,
95(6), 1145–1153.
67.
PhillipsM. R.LiX.ZhangY. (2002).
Suicide rates in China, 1995–99. The Lancet,
359(9309), 835–840.
68.
PodsakoffP. M.MacKenzieS. B.LeeJ. Y.PodsakoffN. P. (2003).
Common method biases in behavioral research: A critical review of the literature and recommended remedies. Journal of Applied Psychology,
88(5), 879–903.
69.
PowersT. A.KoestnerR.GorinA. A. (2008).
Autonomy support from family and friends and weight loss in college women. Families, Systems, & Health,
26(4), 404–416.
70.
RanM. S.XiangM. Z.MaoW. J.HouZ. J.TangM. N.ChenE. Y. H.ConwellY. (2005).
Characteristics of suicide attempters and nonattempters with schizophrenia in a rural community. Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior,
35(6), 694–701.
71.
RatelleC. F.LaroseS.GuayF.SenécalC. (2005).
Perceptions of parental involvement and support as predictors of college students’ persistence in a science curriculum. Journal of Family Psychology,
19(2), 286–293.
72.
RathiN.RastogiR. (2007).
Meaning in life and psychological well-being in pre-adolescents and adolescents. Journal of the Indian Academy of Applied Psychology,
33(1), 31–38.
73.
ReynoldsW. M. (1991).
Psychometric characteristics of the Adult Suicidal Ideation Questionnaire in college students. Journal of Personality Assessment,
56(2), 289–307.
74.
RyanR. M. (1995).
Psychological needs and the facilitation of integrative processes. Journal of Personality,
63, 397–427.
75.
RyanR. M.ConnellJ. P. (1989).
Perceived locus of causality and internalization: Examining reasons for acting in two domains. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology,
57(5), 749–761.
76.
RyanR. M.ConnellJ. P. (1989).
Perceived locus of causality and internalization: Examining reasons for acting in two domains. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology,
57(5), 749–761.
77.
RyanR. M.DeciE. L. (2003). On assimilating identities to the self: A self- determination theory perspective on internalization and integrity within cultures. In LearyM. R.TangneyJ. P. (Eds.), Handbook of self and identity (pp. 253–272).
New York, NY:
Guilford Press.
78.
RyanR. M.DeciE. L. (2017). Self-determination theory: Basic psychological needs in motivation, development, and wellness.
New York, NY:
Guilford Publications.
79.
RyffC. D.KeyesC. L. M. (1995).
The structure of psychological well-being revisited. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology,
69(4), 719–727.
80.
SmithJ. M.AlloyL. B.AbramsonL. Y. (2006).
Cognitive vulnerability to depression, rumination, hopelessness, and suicidal ideation: Multiple pathways to self-injurious thinking. Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior,
36(4), 443–454.
81.
SpectorP. E. (2006).
Method variance in organizational research: Truth or urban legend?Organizational Research Methods,
9(2), 221–232.
82.
StegerM. F. (2012).
Making meaning in life. Psychological Inquiry,
23(4), 381–385.
83.
StegerM. F. (2013). Experiencing meaning in life: Optimal functioning at the nexus of well-being, psychopathology, and spirituality. The human quest for meaning (pp. 211–230).
Abingdon, England:
Routledge.
84.
SunL.ZhangJ. (2015).
Potential years of life lost due to suicide in China, 2006–2010. Public Health,
129(5), 555–560.
85.
TanL.XiaT.ReeceC. (2018).
Social and individual risk factors for suicide ideation among Chinese children and adolescents: A multilevel analysis. International Journal of Psychology,
53(2), 117–125.
86.
Ten BrummelhuisL. L.BakkerA. B. (2012).
A resource perspective on the work–home interface: The work–home resources model. American Psychologist,
67(7), 545–556.
87.
TrépanierS. G.FernetC.AustinS. (2013).
Workplace bullying and psychological health at work: The mediating role of satisfaction of needs for autonomy, competence and relatedness. Work & Stress,
27(2), 123–140.
88.
TongY.PhillipsM. R.ConnerK. R. (2016).
DSM-IV Axis II personality disorders and suicide and attempted suicide in China. The British Journal of Psychiatry,
209(4), 319–326.
89.
VansteenkisteM.SimonsJ.LensW.SoenensB.MatosL. (2005).
Examining the motivational impact of intrinsic versus extrinsic goal framing and autonomy‐supportive versus internally controlling communication style on early adolescents' academic achievement. Child Development,
76(2), 483–501.
90.
WadaK.EguchiH.Prieto-MerinoD.SmithD. R. (2016).
Occupational differences in suicide mortality among Japanese men of working age. Journal of Affective Disorders,
190, 316–321.
91.
WangC. W.ChanC. L.YipP. S. (2014).
Suicide rates in China from 2002 to 2011: An update. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology,
49(6), 929–941.
92.
WeinsteinN.RyanR. M.DeciE. L. (2012). Motivation, meaning, and wellness: A self-determination perspective on the creation and internalization of personal meanings and life goals. In WongP. T. P. (Ed.), Personality and clinical psychology series. The human quest for meaning: Theories, research, and applications (pp. 81–106).
New York, NY:
Routledge/Taylor & Francis Group.
93.
WeiyuanC. (2009).
Women and suicide in rural China.Bulletin of the World Health Organization,
87(12), 888–889.
94.
WilliamsG. C.LynchM. F.McGregorH. A.RyanR. M.SharpD.DeciE. L. (2006).
Validation of the “Important Other” Climate Questionnaire: Assessing autonomy support for health-related change. Families, Systems, & Health,
24(2), 179–194.
95.
World Health Organization. (2017). Preventing suicide: A resource for media professionals, update.
Geneva, Switzerland:
World Health Organization; 2017.
96.
WongP. T. (2016). Meaning-seeking, self-transcendence, and well-being. In Logotherapy and existential analysis (pp. 311–321). Cham, Switzerland: Springer.
97.
WrightT. A.CropanzanoR. (1998).
Emotional exhaustion as a predictor of job performance and voluntary turnover. Journal of Applied Psychology,
83(3), 486–493.
98.
XiaC.WangD.HeX.YeH. (2012).
Reliability and validity testing of self-rating suicide ideation scale and its applications in undergraduate students. Chinese Journal of School Health,
33(2), 144–146.
99.
XiaoJ.GuanS.GeH.TaoN.ZhangY.JiangY.LianY. (2017).
The impact of changes in work stressors and coping resources on the risk of new-onset suicide ideation among Chinese petroleum industry workers. Journal of Psychiatric Research,
88, 1–8.
100.
YangG.WangY.ZengY.GaoG. F.LiangX.ZhouM.VosT. (2013).
Rapid health transition in China, 1990–2010: Findings from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2010. The Lancet,
381(9882), 1987–2015.
101.
YipP. S.YousufS.ChanC. H.YungT.WuK. C. (2015).
The roles of culture and gender in the relationship between divorce and suicide risk: A meta-analysis. Social Science & Medicine,
128, 87–94.
102.
ZhangJ.LiuY.ZhangJ.ChenC. (2018).
Linking psychological strain and suicide ideation: A test of the mediating effect of self-determination among Chinese workers. The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease,
206(5), 362–369.
103.
ZhangJ.MaJ.JiaC.SunJ.GuoX.XuA.LiW. (2010).
Economic growth and suicide rate changes: A case in China from 1982 to 2005. European Psychiatry,
25(3), 159–163.
104.
ZhangJ.SunL.LiuY.ZhangJ. (2014).
The change in suicide rates between 2002 and 2011 in China. Suicide and Life‐Threatening Behavior,
44(5), 560–568.
105.
ZhaoC. J.DangX. B.SuX. L.BaiJ.MaL. Y. (2015).
Epidemiology of suicide and associated socio-demographic factors in emergency department patients in 7 general hospitals in northwestern China. Medical Science Monitor: International Medical Journal of Experimental and Clinical Research,
21, 2743–2749.
106.
ZhongB. L.ChiuH. F.ConwellY. (2016).
Rates and characteristics of elderly suicide in China, 2013–14. Journal of Affective Disorders,
206, 273–279.
107.
Zhang, J., & Jia, C. (2011). Suicidal intent among young suicides in rural China. Archives of suicide research, 15(2), 127–139.
