Reasons for living, meaning in life, and suicide ideation: Investigating the roles of key positive psychological factors in reducing suicide risk in community-residing older adults

Objectives: To investigate the roles of reasons for living (RFL) and meaning in life (MIL) in potentially promoting mental health and well-being and protecting against suicide ideation among community-residing older adults and to investigate the psychometric properties of the Reasons for Living Scale-Older Adult version (RFL-OA). Method: Of 173 older adults initially recruited into a longitudinal study […]

Entrapment and suicidal ideation: The protective roles of presence of life meaning and reasons for living

Objective The integrated motivational–volitional model of suicide proposes that feelings of entrapment play a key role in the development of suicidal ideation. The model also posits a set of motivational moderators which either facilitate or hinder the development of suicidal thinking when entrapment is present. These motivational moderators include factors such as attitudes, future goals, […]

Reasons for living and suicide attempts among young adults with lifetime suicide ideation

Background: Previous work suggests that reasons for living (RFL) are associated with suicide ideation; however, the relationship between RFL and suicide attempts among individuals with suicide ideation remains unclear. Such an examination is necessary to delineate whether RFL are associated with suicide attempts above and beyond their association with suicide ideation. Aims: This study examined the relationship between […]

Hope as a process in understanding positive mood and suicide protection: A test of the broaden-and-build model

Background: According to the broaden-and-build model of positive mood, positive emotions are believed to broaden cognition resources and build psychological resiliency, to help incur positive psychological outcomes. Aim: We examined hope as a potential mediator of the association between positive mood and suicide protection (viz., life satisfaction and reasons for living) in adults. We hypothesized that positive mood […]

Reasons for living among those with lived experience entering the suicide prevention workforce

This study explored reasons for living among those with lived experience of suicide entering the suicide prevention workforce. The study recruited 110 participants from two Roses in the Ocean training programs (79% female, mean age 46.5). Responses to open-ended survey questions about reasons for living were analyzed using qualitative content analysis method. Connection to others and service […]

An examination of the psychometric properties of the Reasons for Living Inventory within a male veteran clinical sample

Elevated suicide risk among veteran populations remains a significant public health concern. However, few suicide assessment measures have been validated for veterans. The current study evaluated the reliability and validity of the Reasons for Living Inventory (RFL) scores among veteran populations. The participants included male veterans (N = 421) from a broad range of ages, […]

Relations between hopelessness, depressive symptoms and suicidality: Mediation by reasons for living

Objective The present study examined whether reasons for living (RFL) would partially account for the associations between traditional risk factors (depressive symptoms, hopelessness) and suicidal ideation and attempts. Method Data were collected from 1,075 undergraduate college students who completed a battery of online assessments. Results Results from a series of simultaneous mediational models indicated that […]

The investigation of the relationship between probability of suicide and reasons for living in psychiatric inpatients.

Aim: This study was carried out to determine the reasons of the suicide probability and reasons for living of the inpatients hospitalized at the psychiatry clinic and to analyze the relationship between them. Materials and Methods: The sample of the study consisted of 192 patients who were hospitalized in psychiatric clinics between February and May […]

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Age, gender, and reasons for living among Australian adults.

Reasons for living have been identified as protective factors in relation to suicide, and much research has documented gender differences in reasons for living. In contrast, little research has investigated age differences in reasons for living. In the current study, the relationship of age to reasons for living was investigated, as was whether age and […]

Reasons for living, social support, and Afrocentric worldview: assessing buffering factors related to Black Americans’ suicidal behavior.

This study utilized an ecological framework to explore the role of 4 culturally relevant protective factors, reasons for living, Afrocentric worldview, family support, and friend support, in protecting Black American college students from suicidal behavior. Participants were 289 Black American college students. We hypothesized that these 4 culturally relevant factors would exert indirect protective effects […]

The brief reasons for living inventory for adolescents (BRFL-A)

This study modified and evaluated the psychometric properties of the Reasons for Living Inventory (RFL) in samples of adolescents. Internal consistency reliability, corrected item-total scale correlation, and exploratory factor analysis procedures were used with a mixed sample of 260 adolescents to identify 14 items for the brief version of the RFL (BRFL-A). Confirmatory factor analyses […]

Coping, reasons for living, and suicide in black college students.

he authors examined the roles of reasons for living and coping in protecting against suicidal behaviors among 361 Black college students. Results of a path analysis revealed that reasons for living mediated against suicidal ideation through an inverse effect on depression. Results also indicated that greater use of emotion-oriented coping may lead to suicidal ideation […]

Coping, reasons for living, and suicide in black college students.

The authors examined the roles of reasons for living and coping in protecting against suicidal behaviors among 361 Black college students. Results of a path analysis revealed that reasons for living mediated against suicidal ideation through an inverse effect on depression. Results also indicated that greater use of emotion-oriented coping may lead to suicidal ideation […]

Age, gender,and reasons for living among Australian adults.

Reasons for living have been identified as protective factors in relation to suicide, and much research has documented gender differences in reasons for living. In contrast, little research has investigated age differences in reasons for living. In the current study, the relationship of age to reasons for living was investigated, as was whether age and […]

Development and Psychometric Evaluation of the Reasons for Living-Older Adults Scale: a Suicide Risk Assessment Inventory

This article presents data from two studies on the development & initial evaluation of the psychometric properties of the Reasons for Living Scale-Older Adult version. Study 1 involved instrument development with 106 community-dwelling olders adults, & initial psychometric evaluation with a second sample of 119 community-dwelling older adults. Study 2 evaluated the scale in a […]

Suicidality and depression among African American adolescents: the role of family and peer support and community connectedness

Rates of suicide are increasing among African Americans adolescents. One area that has received little attention is the relationship between depressive symptoms and suicidality. 212 participants completed in-school surveys on three types of social support: family support,peer support and community connectedness.Survey also addressed depressive symptoms and suicidality, as measured by reasons for living, a cognitive […]

“Reasons for Living” – Translation, Psychometric Evaluation and Relationships to Suicidal Behaviour in a Swedish Random Sample

A Swedish translation of the Reason for Living Inventory was examined for psychometric properties, reliability, latent structure, & convergent validity in a Swedish general population. The Inventory was distributed to 1366 randomly selected subjects aged 20-65 years in the county of Ostergotland. The results were based on 506 complete replies. The intercorrelations between the scales […]

The Internal Suicide Debate Hypothesis: Exploring the Life Versus Death Struggle

This study introduces direct assessment of a suicidal debate, revealing new aspects of suicide ideation. Results, from an online survey (1,016 responses) showed nearly all suicide-risk respondents engaged in the debate. In addition, debate frequency accounted for 54 percent of the variance in suicidality scores, & showed significant associations with other indicators of suicide risk. […]

A Reason to Live: the Protective Influence of Close Friendships on College Students

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships among college age students experiences in close friendship, emotional autonomy, & reasons to live. A final sample of 441 undergraduate students participated. Results indicated a significant negative association between attachment anxiety & reasons to live implying that students that are more confident in a friends’ […]

Reasons for Living, Hopelessness, and Suicide Ideation Among Depressed Adults 50 Years or Older

The authors tested the hypothesis that reasons for living are inversely related to suicide ideation. This report is a secondary analysis of cross-sectional data from a sample of 125 adults 50 years & older receiving treatment for a mood disorder. Patients who reported higher levels of fear of suicide were less likely to report suicide […]

Exploring the Validity of the College Student Reasons for Living Inventory Among Asian American College Students

The cultural validity of the College Student Reasons for Living Inventory was examined with a sample of 314 Asian American college students. Although results did not completely replicate the 6-factor structure as identified by Westefeld et al (1992), partial support was found. The content of the 5 factors that emerged corresponded to 5 of the […]

Gender Role, Sexual Orientation and Suicide Risk

The unique & interactive effects of sexual orientation & gender role were assessed with regard to suicide ideation, related psychopathology, & measures of coping. 47 undergraduate psychology students participated as did 30 subjects recruited from gay, lesbian & transgender student organizations. Consistent with expectations, cross-gender role is a unique predictor of suicidal symptoms. Moreover, gender […]