Degree Name
MA (Master of Arts)
Program
Psychology
Date of Award
5-2017
Committee Chair or Co-Chairs
Jameson K. Hirsch
Committee Members
Jon R.Webb, Matthew T. McBee
Abstract
Young adults of college age are at particular risk for psychopathology, non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) and consequent suicidal behavior, perhaps in a continuum of increasing severity. However, not all persons who experience psychopathological symptoms, or who self-harm, go on to engage in suicidal behavior, perhaps due to protective factors such as self-compassion that buffer this progression. We examined the mediating effect of NSSI on the relation between anxiety/depressive symptoms and suicide risk, and the moderating role of self-compassion on these linkages. Our collegiate sample (N=338) completed: Beck Depression Inventory, Beck Anxiety Inventory, Self-Harm Inventory, Suicidal Behavior Questionnaire-Revised, and the Self-Compassion Scale. Students with greater psychopathology reported more engagement in NSSI and, consequently, more suicide risk; self-compassion weakened the psychopathology-NSSI linkage. Therapeutically addressing risk factors for suicidal behavior (e.g., psychopathology, NSSI), and promoting self-compassion, may halt progression from symptomology to self-harm, thereby ultimately reducing suicide risk in college students.
Document Type
Thesis - unrestricted
Recommended Citation
Kaniuka, Andrea R., "Symptoms of Anxiety and Depression and Suicidal Behavior in College Students: Conditional Indirect Effects of Non-Suicidal Self-Injury and Self-Compassion" (2017). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. Paper 3200. https://dc.etsu.edu/etd/3200
Copyright
Copyright by the authors.