Family Atmosphere and Suicidal Ideation in College Students: The Chain Mediation Effect of Attachment and Cognitive Flexibility

Abstract

Numerous studies have extensively examined the risk factors associated with suicidal ideation (SI). Nevertheless, there has been a dearth of research analyzing the potential positive factors, such as attachment and cognitive flexibility, that might contribute to a reduction in SI and facilitate more effective interventions. This study aimed to investigate the chain-mediating effects of attachment and cognitive flexibility on the family atmosphere and SI. Data were collected from 856 (range = 18–28 years old, 240 males) emerging adults who completed the Family Atmosphere Scale, the Relationship Questionnaire, the Cognitive Flexibility Scale, and the Self-rated Ideation of Suicide Scale. The findings revealed that the family atmosphere not only exerted a direct influence on SI but also operated through a chain-mediation mechanism involving fearful attachment and cognitive control flexibility. This study concludes that fearful attachment and cognitive control flexibility may mediate the impact of a negative family atmosphere on SI.

Keywords

Family atmosphere attachment cognitive flexibility suicidal ideation emerging adults

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Angelakis

Gillespie

Panagioti

(2019). Childhood maltreatment and adult suicidality: A comprehensive systematic review with meta-analysis. Psychological Medicine, 49(7), 1057–1078. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0033291718003823

Arend

Gove

F. L.

Sroufe

L. A.

(1979). Continuity of individual adaptation from infancy to kindergarten: A predictive study of ego-resiliency and curiosity in preschoolers. Child Development, 50(4), 950–959. https://doi.org/10.2307/1129319

Baiden

Mengo

Boateng

G. O.

Small

(2019). Investigating the association between age at first alcohol use and suicidal ideation among high school students: Evidence from the youth risk behavior surveillance system. Journal of Affective Disorders, 242, 60–67. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2018.08.078

Bakermans-Kranenburg

van IJzendoorn

(2009). The first 10,000 Adult Attachment Interviews: Distributions of adult attachment representations in clinical and non-clinical groups. Attachment & Human Development, 11(3), 223–263. https://doi.org/10.1080/14616730902814762

Barbour

R. F.

(1970). Attachment and loss. Vol. 1. Attachment. By John Bowlby. London: the Hogarth press and institute of psycho-analysis. 1969. Pp. 428. Price 63 s. British Journal of Psychiatry, 116(530), 102–103. https://doi.org/10.1192/bjp.116.530.102

Bartholomew

Horowitz

L. M.

(1991). Attachment styles among young adults: A test of a four-category model. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 61(2), 226–244. https://doi.org/10.1037//0022-3514.61.2.226

Baumeister

R. F.

(1990). Suicide as escape from self. Psychological Review, 97(1), 90–113. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-295x.97.1.90

Bowlby

(1982). Attachment and loss: Retrospect and prospect. The American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 52(4), 664–678. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1939-0025.1982.tb01456.x

Cassidy

(1986). The Ability to Negotiate the Environment: An Aspect of Infant Competence as Related to Quality of Attachment. Child Development, 57(2), 331. https://doi.org/10.2307/1130588

10.

Cassidy

Shaver

P. R.

(2008). Handbook of attachment, second edition: Theory, research, and clinical applications. Guilford Press.

11.

Crittenden

P. M.

Dallos

(2009). All in the family: Integrating attachment and family systems theories. Clinical Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 14(3), 389–409. https://doi.org/10.1177/1359104509104048

12.

Dennis

J. P.

Vander Wal

J. S.

(2010). The cognitive flexibility inventory: Instrument development and estimates of reliability and validity. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 34(3), 241–253. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10608-009-9276-4

13.

Guo

Huang

Jin

Lin

Chen

Zhang

Zhu

Wang

(2021). The relationship between suicidal ideation and parental attachment among adolescents: The mediator of anhedonia and peer attachment. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, 727088. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.727088

14.

Hayes

A. F.

(2015). An index and test of linear moderated mediation. Multivariate Behavioral Research, 50(1), 1–22. https://doi.org/10.1080/00273171.2014.962683

15.

Hughes

Ensor

(2005). Executive function and theory of mind in 2 year olds: A family affair? Developmental Neuropsychology, 28(2), 645–668. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15326942dn2802_5

16.

Johnson

Gooding

P. A.

Wood

A. M.

Taylor

P. J.

Pratt

Tarrier

(2010). Resilience to suicidal ideation in psychosis: Positive self-appraisals buffer the impact of hopelessness. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 48(9), 883–889. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.brat.2010.05.013

17.

Joiner

(2005). Why people die by suicide (p. 276). Harvard University Press.

18.

Kang

Zhao

Yang

(2001). Preliminary compilation and reliability and validity analysis of the system family dynamics self-assessment questionnaire. Chinese Journal of Mental Health, 2(02), 92–95. https://doi.org/10.1016/CNKI:SUN:ZXWS.0.2001-02-008

19.

Kim

S. Y.

Lee

M. Y.

Kim

S. I.

Lim

W. J.

(2022). The mediating effects of working hours, sleep duration, and depressive mood on the association between shift work and the risk of suicidal ideation in Korean workers. Sleep Medicine, 93, 49–55. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sleep.2022.03.016

20.

Klonsky

E. D.

May

A. M.

Saffer

B. Y.

(2016). Suicide, suicide attempts, and suicidal ideation. Annual Review of Clinical Psychology, 12, 307–330. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-clinpsy-021815-093204

21.

Kwok

S. Y. C. L.

Shek

D. T. L.

(2011). Family processes and suicidal ideation among Chinese adolescents in Hong Kong. The Scientific World Journal, 11, 27–41. https://doi.org/10.1100/tsw.2011.1

22.

You

Ren

Zhou

Sun

Liu

Leung

(2019). A longitudinal study testing the role of psychache in the association between emotional abuse and suicidal ideation. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 75(12), 2284–2292. https://doi.org/10.1002/jclp.22847

23.

Macdonald

A. J.

(1992). Systemic family therapy in adult psychiatry. The British Journal of Psychiatry: The Journal of Mental Science, 160, 718. https://doi.org/10.1192/bjp.160.5.718a

24.

Martin

M. M.

Rubin

R. B.

(1995). A new measure of cognitive flexibility. Psychological Reports, 76(2), 623–626. https://doi.org/10.2466/pr0.1995.76.2.623

25.

McHale

J. P.

Johnson

Sinclair

(1999). Family dynamics, preschoolers’ family representations, and preschool peer relationships. Early Education and Development, 10(3), 373–401. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15566935eed1003_8

26.

Mikulincer

Florian

(1999). The association between parental reports of attachment style and family dynamics, and offspring’s reports of adult attachment style. Family Process, 38(2), 243–257. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1545-5300.1999.00243.x

27.

Mikulincer

Shaver

P. R.

(2007). Attachment in adulthood: Structure, dynamics, and change (p. 578). The Guilford Press.

28.

Miranda

Gallagher

Bauchner

Vaysman

Marroquín

(2012). Cognitive inflexibility as a prospective predictor of suicidal ideation among young adults with a suicide attempt history: Cognitive Inflexibility and Suicidal Behavior. Depression and Anxiety, 29(3), 180–186. https://doi.org/10.1002/da.20915

29.

Neuringer

(1964). Rigid thinking in suicidal individuals. Journal of Consulting Psychology, 28(1), 54–58. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0045809

30.

Nolen-Hoeksema

Wisco

B. E.

Lyubomirsky

(2008). Rethinking rumination. Perspectives on Psychological Science: A Journal of the Association for Psychological Science, 3(5), 400–424. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1745-6924.2008.00088.x

31.

Odacı

Çıkrıkçı

Ö.

Çıkrıkçı

Aydın

(2019). An exploration of the associations among cognitive flexibility, attachment styles and life satisfaction. International Journal of Happiness and Development, 49(7), 1057–1078. https://doi.org/10.1504/IJHD.2019.103401

32.

Palitsky

Mota

Afifi

T. O.

Downs

A. C.

Sareen

(2013). The association between adult attachment style, mental disorders, and suicidality: Findings from a population-Based study. Journal of Nervous & Mental Disease, 201(7), 579–586. https://doi.org/10.1097/NMD.0b013e31829829ab

33.

Perrah

Wichman

(1987). Cognitive rigidity in suicide attempters. Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior, 17(3), 251–255. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1943-278X.1987.tb00271.x

34.

Potard

Combes

Labrell

(2020). Suicidal ideation among French adolescents: Separation anxiety and attachment according to sex. The Journal of Genetic Psychology, 181(6), 470–488. https://doi.org/10.1080/00221325.2020.1822773

35.

Ravitz

Maunder

Hunter

Sthankiya

Lancee

(2010). Adult attachment measures: A 25-year review. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 69(4), 419–432. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpsychores.2009.08.006

36.

Reinherz

H. Z.

Tanner

J. L.

Berger

S. R.

Beardslee

W. R.

Fitzmaurice

G. M.

(2006). Adolescent suicidal ideation as predictive of psychopathology, suicidal behavior, and compromised functioning at age 30. American Journal of Psychiatry, 163(7), 1226–1232. https://doi.org/10.1176/ajp.2006.163.7.1226

37.

Reynolds

W. M.

(1991). Psychometric characteristics of the adult suicidal ideation questionnaire in college students. Journal of Personality Assessment, 56(2), 289–307. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327752jpa5602_9

38.

Schneider

R. A.

Chen

S. Y.

Lungu

Grasso

J. R.

(2020). Treating suicidal ideation in the context of depression. BMC Psychiatry, 20(1), 497. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12888-020-02894-5

39.

Schuengel

Bakermans-Kranenburg

M. J.

Van IJzendoorn

M. H.

(1999). Frightening maternal behavior linking unresolved loss and disorganized infant attachment. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 67(1), 54–63. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-006X.67.1.54

40.

Shek

D. T. L.

(2002). Family functioning and psychological well-being, school adjustment, and problem behavior in Chinese adolescents with and without economic disadvantage. The Journal of Genetic Psychology, 163(4), 497–502. https://doi.org/10.1080/00221320209598698

41.

Yang

Y.-Q.

Zeng

Z.-H.

Liu

S.-J.

Zhang

G.-H.

(2022). The Relationship of Family Functioning and Suicidal Ideation among Adolescents: The Mediating Role of Defeat and the Moderating Role of Meaning in Life. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(23), 15895. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph192315895

42.

Yang

Kang

Zhao

(2002). Compilation and reliability and validity analysis of the system family dynamics self-assessment questionnaire. Chinese Journal of Clinical Psychology, 10(4), 263–265.

43.

Suicide worldwide in 2019. (n.d.). Retrieved June 30, 2023, from. https://www.who.int/publications-detail-redirect/9789240026643

44.

Van De Wal

Langenberg

Gielissen

Thewes

Van Oort

Prins

(2017). Fear of cancer recurrence: A significant concern among partners of prostate cancer survivors. Psycho-Oncology, 26(12), 2079–2085. https://doi.org/10.1002/pon.4423

45.

Wang

Yang

Xiao

W.-T.

(2016). Validity and reliability of the Chinese version of the Cognitive Flexibility Inventory in college students. Chinese Mental Health Journal, 30(1), 58–62.

46.

Waraan

Mehlum

Rognli

E. W.

Czajkowski

N. O.

Aalberg

(2021). Associations between insecure attachment styles to parents and suicidal ideation in adolescents with depression. Scandinavian Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychology, 9(1), 41–51. https://doi.org/10.21307/sjcapp-2021-006

47.

Xia

Wang

(2002). Preliminary development of self-rating scale for suicidal ideation. Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, 12(2), 100–102. https://doi.org/10.3969/j.issn.1005-3220.2002.02.030