Social anxiety and suicidal ideation: Test of the utility of the interpersonal-psychological theory of suicide
Open accessAbstract
Social anxiety is related to greater suicidality, even after controlling for depression and other psychopathology. The Interpersonal-Psychological Theory of Suicide (IPTS; Joiner, 2005) proposes that people are vulnerable to wanting to die by suicide if they experience both perceived burdensomeness (sense that one is a burden to others) and thwarted belongingness (a greater sense of alienation from others). Socially anxious persons may be especially vulnerable to these interpersonal factors. The current study tested whether interpersonal IPTS components independently and additively mediate the social anxiety-suicidal ideation (SI) relation among 780 (80.5% female) undergraduates. Social anxiety was significantly, robustly related to SI and to thwarted belongingness and perceived burdensomeness. Social anxiety was indirectly related to SI via thwarted belongingness and perceived burdensomeness. The sum of these indirect effects was significant. Moderated mediation analyses indicated that perceived burdensomeness only mediated the relation between social anxiety and SI at higher levels of thwarted belongingness. Findings highlight that difficulties in interpersonal functioning may serve as potential pathways through which social anxiety may lead to greater suicidality. Findings highlight that difficulties in interpersonal functioning may serve as potential pathways through which social anxiety may lead to greater suicidality.
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There was only one study exploring suicidal ideation and attempts despite the ample existing literature on AA in suicide research and the strong association between suicide and SA.
“For example, there was only one study exploring suicidal ideation and attempts despite the ample existing literature on AA in suicide research [102] and the strong association between suicide and SA [103].”
From Studies of Social Anxiety Using Ambulatory Assessment: Systematic Review (2024) · cites this paper as [103]
Citation [103] is attached to the association between suicide and social anxiety (SA), not to the claim that only one study explored ideation and attempts. The Introduction reports high rates of suicidal ideation among people with social anxiety disorder, and the Discussion says social anxiety was robustly related to suicidal ideation. The paper does not establish the broader association with suicide itself or suicide attempts. (LLM, conf=0.85)
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Studies of Social Anxiety Using Ambulatory Assessment: Systematic Review
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- Authors
- Buckner, J. D., Lemke, A. W., Jeffries, E. R., & Shah, S. M.
- Affiliations
- Louisiana State University (US)
- Corresponding author
- Buckner, Julia D.
- Venue
- Journal of Anxiety Disorders
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2017-01
- Volume
- 45
- Pages
- 60-63
- ISSN
- 0887-6185 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC5234685
- OpenAlex
- W2559080477
- Cited by
- 77
- References
- 32
- Citations by year
- 2026: 6 · 2025: 6 · 2024: 21 · 2023: 10 · 2022: 10 · 2021: 8 · 2020: 5 · 2019: 5 · 2018: 3 · 2017: 3
- FWCI
- 4.90
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Locations
- Journal of Anxiety Disorders (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (acceptedVersion)
- PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
- Civil War Book Review (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- National Institute on Drug Abuse (R34DA031937)
- 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
- social anxiety, suicidal ideation, interpersonal theory of suicide, perceived burdensomeness, thwarted belongingness, mediation, moderated mediation, interpersonal functioning, undergraduate students
- MeSH terms
- Phobia, Social, Adolescent, Anxiety, Depression, Female, Humans, Interpersonal Relations, Male, Psychological Theory, Students, Suicide, Young Adult, Suicidal Ideation
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