Interpersonal needs and suicide risk: The moderating roles of sex and brooding.

OBJECTIVES

This paper tested two moderators, brooding and participant sex, on the respective relations between thwarted belongingness (TB), perceived burdensomeness (PB), and suicide risk.

METHOD: Using a cross-sectional design in a sample of undergraduates (N = 278), two hierarchical regression models examining the three-way interaction between brooding, sex, and either TB or PB on suicide risk were conducted.

RESULTS

A significant two-way interaction of brooding and TB was detected, but no moderating effect of sex was observed. There was a significant three-way interaction of brooding, sex, and PB on suicide risk.

CONCLUSIONS

High levels of TB and brooding produce increased suicide risk across sexes. The relation between PB and suicide risk is dependent on brooding for females but not males.