Journal
PSYCHIATRY RESEARCH
Volume 304, Issue -, Pages -Publisher
ELSEVIER IRELAND LTD
DOI: 10.1016/j.psychres.2021.114144
Keywords
COVID-19; Suicidal Ideation; Loneliness; Social Isolation; Anxiety sensitivity; Intolerance of uncertainty
Categories
Funding
- National Institutes of Health [RMH116311A]
Ask authors/readers for more resources
The study found that loneliness and anxiety sensitivity were significantly associated with suicidal ideation during the COVID-19 pandemic, especially in the context of social isolation and uncertainty.
Public health measures enacted early in response to the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in unprecedented physical isolation. Social isolation, or the objective experience of being alone, and loneliness, the subjective feeling of being lonely, are both implicated in suicidal ideation. Anxiety sensitivity (i.e., fear of somatic anxiety) and intolerance of uncertainty (distress due to uncertainty), may also be heightened in response to the pandemic increasing risk for suicidal ideation in response to social isolation and loneliness. The direct and interactive relations loneliness, anxiety sensitivity, and intolerance of uncertainty shared with suicidal ideation were examined using structural equation modeling across two samples. Sample 1 comprised 635 people (M age = 38.52, SD = 10.00; 49.0% female) recruited using Mechanical Turk in May 2020. Sample 2 comprised 435 people (M age = 34.92, SD = 14.98; 76.2% female) recruited from faculty, staff, and students at a midwestern university in June 2020. Loneliness and anxiety sensitivity were positively, uniquely associated with suicidal ideation across samples. Results of this study were cross-sectional and included only self-report measures. These findings highlight loneliness and anxiety sensitivity as important correlates of suicidal ideation. Modular treatments should be employed to target these mechanisms to reduce COVID-19-related suicidal ideation.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available