Citation

Tong B, Devendorf A, Panaite V, Miller R, Kashdan TB, Joiner T, Twenge J, Karver M, Janakiraman R, Rottenberg J. Behav. Ther. 2022; 53(3): 481-491.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2022, Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies, Publisher Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.beth.2021.11.006

PMID

35473651

PMCID

PMC9046683

Abstract

To what extent does a suicide attempt impair a person's future well-being? We estimated the prevalence of future well-being (FWB) among suicide attempt survivors using a nationally representative sample of 15,170 youths. Suicide attempt survivors were classified as having high FWB if they reported (a) a suicide attempt at Wave I, (b) no suicidal ideation or attempts over the past year at Wave III (7 years after), and (c) a well-being profile at or above the top quartile of nonsuicidal peers. Seventy-five of 574 suicide attempt survivors (∼13%) met criteria for FWB at Wave III, compared to 26% of nonsuicidal peers. Wave I well-being levels, not depressive symptoms, predicted the likelihood of FWB at Wave III (OR = 1.23, 95% CI [1.05, 1.44], p < .05). In conclusion, a nonfatal suicide attempt reduced but did not preclude FWB in a large national sample. The observation that a segment of the population of suicide attempt survivors achieves FWB carries implications for the prognosis of suicidal behavior and the value of incorporating well-being into investigations of suicide-related phenomena.

Language: en

Keywords

longitudinal; suicide attempt; future well-being