Perceived burdensomeness and thwarted belongingness predict excessive reassurance seeking among clinical outpatients
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: The current study aimed to investigate whether perceived burdensomeness and thwarted belongingness (i.e., suicide risk factors) were associated with excessive reassurance seeking (a behavior linked to rejection). It was predicted that perceived burdensomeness and thwarted belongingness would predict higher levels of excessive reassurance seeking, controlling for depressive symptoms and global functioning. METHOD: A cross-sectional sample of 415 clinical outpatients (62% female; mean age = 28) was examined. RESULTS: Perceived burdensomeness and thwarted belongingness significantly predicted excessive reassurance seeking, controlling for depressive symptoms and global functioning. CONCLUSIONS: Perceived burdensomeness and thwarted belongingness predicted excessive reassurance seeking, suggesting that it would be beneficial for clinicians to assess for and target excessive reassurance seeking among individuals experiencing perceived burdensomeness and thwarted belongingness so that excessive reassurance seeking does not elicit interpersonal rejection.
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Other studies report perceived burdensomeness to be associated more directly with suicidal ideation compared to thwarted belongingness.
“This is in line with other studies reporting perceived burdensomeness to be associated more directly with SI compared to thwarted belongingness (Hames et al., 2015; Ma et al., 2016).”
From Modelling suicide ideation from beep to beep: application of network analysis to ecological momentary assessment data (2019) · cites this paper as Hames et al., 2015
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- Authors
- Hames, J. L., Chiurliza, B., Podlogar, M. C., Smith, A. R., Selby, E. A., Anestis, M. D., & Joiner, T. E.
- Affiliations
- Florida State University (US)
- Miami University (US)
- Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey (US)
- University of Southern Mississippi (US)
- Corresponding author
- Joiner, Thomas E.
- ORCID
- Venue
- Journal of Clinical Psychology
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2015-03-21
- Volume
- 71
- Issue
- 6
- Pages
- 597-605
- ISSN
- 0021-9762 (ISSN-L)
- 1097-4679
- OpenAlex
- W1889907546
- Cited by
- 22
- References
- 34
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2024: 1 · 2023: 2 · 2022: 3 · 2021: 1 · 2020: 4 · 2019: 2 · 2018: 3 · 2017: 2 · 2016: 2
- FWCI
- 2.90
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Journal of Clinical Psychology (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Rutgers University Community Repository (Rutgers University) (submittedVersion)
- Aquila Digital Community (University of Southern Mississippi) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Suicide and Self-Harm Studies
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Anxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive Processes
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Death Anxiety and Social Exclusion
- Keywords
- perceived burdensomeness, thwarted belongingness, suicide risk factors, interpersonal rejection, depressive symptoms, global functioning
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Cross-Sectional Studies, Depression, Female, Humans, Interpersonal Relations, Male, Outpatients, Risk Factors, Psychological Distance, Suicide
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