Citation

Schnitker SA, Currier JM, Abernethy AD, Witvliet CO, Foster JD, Root Luna LM, VanHarn K, Carter J. J. Pers. 2021; 89(6): 1191-1205.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2021, John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1111/jopy.12644

PMID

33904181

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: Suicidal behavior is a leading cause of injury and death, so research identifying protective factors is essential. Research suggests gratitude and life hardships patience are character strengths that might protect against the deleterious association of struggles with ultimate meaning and suicide risk. However, no studies have evaluated their utility among people experiencing acute/severe mental health concerns.
METHOD: We tested the protective function of gratitude and life hardships patience with cross-sectional data from adults (Mage  = 31.83 years; SD = 14.84; range = 18-82) hospitalized in a Christian psychiatric inpatient facility (Mstay  = 6.37 days, SD = 4.64).
RESULTS: Gratitude and life hardships patience moderated the positive relation between meaning struggles and suicide risk. Specifically, gratitude and life hardships patience protected against meaning struggles as a risk factor for suicide through mechanisms separate from ameliorating depressive symptoms.
CONCLUSIONS: Findings provide initial support for gratitude and patience interventions as an adjunct to standard psychiatric treatment for minimizing suicide risk.

Language: en

Keywords

Humans; Cross-Sectional Studies; Risk Factors; Adult; suicide; Suicide; Suicidal Ideation; Inpatients; Hospitals, Psychiatric; patience; gratitude; inpatient psychiatric treatment; meaning struggles; spiritual struggles