Citation

Wachtel S, Teismann T. Z. Klin. Psychol. Psychother. 2013; 42(2): 96-106.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2013, Verlag Karl Alber)

DOI

10.1026/1616-3443/a000193

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

BACKGROUND: In his Interpersonal Theory of Suicide Joiner (2005) proposes that both the sense of not belonging to a valued group (thwarted belongingness) and the impression to be a burden on others (perceived burdensomeness) are associated with the desire to die. Suicidal behavior, on the other hand, arises when the desire to die is accompanied by an acquired capability to commit suicide (acquired capability).

OBJECTIVE: In how far does empirical work support these assumptions? Method: In the course of a literature search, 29 studies published between 2002 and 2011 were identified.

RESULTS: The empirical basis suggests that perceived burdensomeness, thwarted belongingness, and acquired capability are associated with different facets of suicidality. There is a lack of studies investigating the interrelation of the theory's constructs.

CONCLUSION: The empirical basis supports the Interpersonal Theory's assumptions. The informative value, however, is limited as almost all investigations have a cross-sectional design. Moreover, there are few studies measuring all of the theory's three constructs. © Hogrefe Verlag, Göttingen 2013.

Language: en

Keywords

Suicide; Interpersonal theory of suicidal behavior