Fearful Attachment and Suicide Probability: The Mediating Role of Psychological Symptoms on Medical School Students

Abstract

The mediating role of psychological symptoms in the relationship between fearful attachment and suicide probability was examined. The data were obtained from 192 medical school students. Adult Attachment Styles Scale, Suicide Probability Scale, and Symptom Check List 90R were used to collect the data. Correlation analysis was utilized to examine the relationships between variables, and the mediating role was determined using the bootstrapping method. Findings showed significant relationships between fearful attachment, psychological symptoms, and suicide probability. Moreover, the fearful attachment was associated with increased psychological symptoms and suicide probability. Psychological symptoms were associated with increased suicide probability. Furthermore, psychological symptoms mediated the relationship between fearful attachment and suicide probability. Psychological symptoms are critical in the relationship between fearful attachment and suicide probability. The current research adds to our knowledge of suicide probability by investigating fearful attachment and psychological symptoms. Besides, it underlies and contributes to the antecedents of suicide probability.

Keywords

• attachment
• suicide
• depression
• paranoid ideation
• psychoticism

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