The role of hope and resilience in protecting against suicidal thoughts and behaviors during the Covid-19 pandemic

Knowles, James R., Gray, Nicola S., O’Connor, Chris, Pink, Jennifer, Simkiss, Nicola J. and Snowden, Robert J. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9900-480X 2022. The role of hope and resilience in protecting against suicidal thoughts and behaviors during the Covid-19 pandemic. Archives of Suicide Research 26 (3) , pp. 1487-1504. 10.1080/13811118.2021.1923599

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Abstract

Objective The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the mental health and wellbeing of populations across the world. This study aimed to examine: (1) which specific aspects of the COVID-19 pandemic were associated with the presence of suicidal thoughts and behaviors, and (2) the extent to which participants’ hopelessness and resilience moderated the relationship between COVID-19 related stress and suicidal thoughts and behaviors. Method We administered an online survey to 12,989 adult (16+) participants across Wales from the 9th June to the 13th July 2020. Participants completed a series of questionnaires measuring the stressors they had experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic, their levels of hopelessness over the past two weeks, their levels of resilience, and whether they had experienced suicidal thoughts or behaviors since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Results Our findings revealed that: (1) food insecurity, domestic abuse, relationship problems, redundancy, social isolation and financial problems were the COVID-19 related stressors most strongly associated with suicidal thoughts and behaviors, and (2) that both hopelessness and resilience moderated the relationship between COVID-19 stress and suicidal thoughts, such that the relationship between COVID-19 stress and the presence of suicidal thoughts was much stronger for individuals with high hopelessness and low resilience. Conclusions These results highlight the aspects of the COVID-19 pandemic that are closely related to suicidal thoughts and behaviors and demonstrate the important role that hope for the future and resilience play in protecting individuals against the negative effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	Psychology
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis (Routledge)/ Springer Verlag (Germany)
ISSN:	1381-1118
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	26 April 2021
Date of Acceptance:	23 April 2021
Last Modified:	06 Nov 2023 21:02
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/140779

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