Coping, Meaning in Life, and Suicidal Manifestations: Examining Gender Differences

Life meaning & coping strategies were studied as statistical predictors of suicidal manifestations in 298 undergraduates. Participants completed measures of hopelessness, sense of coherence, purpose in life, coping for stressful situations, suicide ideation, prior suicide attempts, & self-reported likelihood of future suicidal behaviour. Moderated multiple regression techniques examined the incremental life meaning by coping interactions for predicting each suicide variable separately by gender. The interactions of sense of coherence & emotion-oriented coping made a unique, signifcant contribtuion to the statistical prediction of all suicide variables for women. For men, the interaction between sense of coherence & emotion-oriented coping contributed significantly to the statistical prediction of suicide ideation. (56 refs.)