Interpersonal Trauma and Suicide Ideation: The Indirect Effects of Depressive Symptoms, Thwarted Belongingness, and Perceived Burden

Suicide risk is elevated among college-aged students and individuals exposed to cumulative interpersonal trauma. This study used the interpersonal theory of suicide as a framework to test the relation between cumulative interpersonal trauma and suicide ideation through the indirect effects of cumulative interpersonal trauma via depression, thwarted belongingness (TB), and perceived burdensomeness (PB), in serial. Participants were 261 college students who endorsed prior trauma and completed cross-sectional study measures online. An atemporal serial mediation model indicated that cumulative interpersonal trauma significantly and indirectly related to suicide ideation through depressive symptoms, TB, and PB. The relation between cumulative interpersonal trauma and suicide ideation was explained by greater depressive symptoms, TB, and PB, in serial. Therefore, depressive symptoms, TB, and PB may be important modifiable clinical targets for college students with a history of cumulative interpersonal trauma.