INTRODUCTION: Suicidal behavior still cannot be sufficiently predicted. Exposure to suicidal behavior in the personal social environment is assumed to moderate the individual's transition from suicidal ideation to suicidal behavior within the Integrated Motivational-Volitional Model of Suicidal Behavior (IMV-model). This study aimed to investigate this moderating effect in a German high-risk sample.
METHODS: We interviewed 308 psychiatric inpatients (53% female) aged 18 to 81 years (M = 36.9, SD = 14.30) admitted after attempted suicide (53%) or due to an acute suicidal crisis (47%) regarding exposure events in their social environment. Four types of exposure events were analyzed using moderation analyses: familial suicides/suicide attempts, non-familial suicides/suicide attempts. Additionally, the numbers of reported exposure events were compared between patients with and without a recent suicide attempt as well as between patients with lifetime suicide attempts and lifetime suicidal ideation.
RESULTS: Neither moderating effects of exposure events on the relationship between lifetime suicidal ideation and recent suicidal behavior nor group differences between suicidal ideators and suicide attempters regarding the exposure events were found.
CONCLUSIONS: Exposure events might have differential and possibly protective effects on suicidal behavior - depending on type and quality (intensity, personal relevance, and recency) of event - and on the outcome (suicide vs. suicide attempt).