Abstract

Evidence supports the psychological assessment of well-being in addition to and beyond pathology. The experiences of the majority of persons that successfully adapt or even strengthen through the predominantly non-lethal course of suicidality remain largely unexamined. This exploratory study measured variance in suicidality as predicted by concurrent mental illness and mental health assessment models within the same sample. Via a secure website participants (n=135) responded to the Suicide Behaviors Questionnaire (SBQ-14) as the dependent variable, the combined Zung Self-Report Depression Scale (SRDS), Beck Hopelessness Scale ^© (BHS) and Five-Shot Questionnaire on Heavy Drinking (FSQ) as independent variables representing a mental illness model, and the Hope Scale and Suicide Resilience Index (SRI-25) combined as to represent a mental health model. Research hypotheses predicted that: (a) the mental health variables would be significantly correlated with suicidality, (b) the mental health model would account for significant suicidality variance beyond that shared by the two models, and (c) the concomitant use of both models would produce information about suicidality and these contributory variables. The BHS and SRDS were positively correlated with the SBQ-14 as well as negatively correlated with the Hope Scale and the SRI-25. The Hope Scale and the SRI-25 were negatively correlated with the SBQ-14. The FSQ was negatively correlated with the Hope Scale but not significantly correlated with the SRI-25, BHS, SRDS, or SBQ-14. With 47.4% of the sample reporting suicidality, hierarchical regression analysis demonstrated that the mental health model accounted for significant variance beyond that shared with the mental illness model, demonstrating R² change of .07 (p≤.001). Although depression accounted for the greatest variance (38%) within the mental illness model, within the combined models suicide resilience exceeded hope and all components of the mental illness model as the strongest overall predictor of suicidality variance (33%). These results demonstrated the value of using concurrent mental health and mental illness measures, especially within multivariate designs, for study of the full range of suicidality experiences.