(PS13-67) What Bridges the Gap Between Forgiveness and Suicidality? Examining Emotion Regulation and Interpersonal Needs as Serial Mediators

Suicide is a significant public health concern and a leading cause of death among undergraduate students in the United States. More research is needed to understand the association between risk and resilience factors and suicide in this population. There is an increasing body of evidence that suggests forgiveness is a resilience factor against suicide. Increased forgiveness has been associated with reduced suicidal thoughts and behaviors among undergraduate students. While research has demonstrated the positive benefits of forgiveness, the mechanisms for how it relates to suicide are less well known. Interpersonal needs, such as perceived burdensomeness and thwarted belongingness, and emotion regulation (ER) have emerged as strong predictors of suicide severity, and together, they may mediate this relationship. The present study examined the potential mediating effects of interpersonal needs and ER on the relationship between forgiveness and suicide using a serial mediation model. Use of this model allowed for a simultaneous evaluation of the joint and independent influences of both mediational variables. Undergraduate students (N = 514) were recruited from rural New England and completed the Heartland Forgiveness Scale, Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale, Interpersonal Needs Questionnaire, and Columbia-Suicide Severity Rating Scale via Qualtrics. Two serial mediation models were tested using PROCESS Model 6. In the first model, ER and perceived burdensomeness were examined as independent and joint mediators of the forgiveness and suicide relationship, which accounted for 14.0% of the variance in suicide severity (p < .001). Increased forgiveness predicted increased ER, which then predicted decreased perceived burdensomeness and thereby decreased suicide severity. In the second model, ER and thwarted belongingness were examined as independent and joint mediators of the forgiveness and suicide relationship, which accounted for 10.2% of the variance of suicide severity (p < .001). Increased forgiveness predicted increased ER, and thereby decreased suicide severity. However, thwarted belongingness was not a significant predictor in the model. The results of the serial mediation indicate that perceived burdensomeness has a causal effect on ER within the relationship between forgiveness and suicide, but thwarted belongingness does not. The present study indicates that forgiveness-based interventions aimed to reduce suicidal thoughts and behaviors in undergraduate students may consider targetting feelings of perceived burdensomeness and emotion regulation to improve their effectiveness. In addition, future studies may consider using a longitudinal design to establish temporal relationships.