The Mediation Effect of Frustrated Interpersonal Needs on the Relationship between Non-suicidal Self-harm and Suicidal Ideation among College Students

Purpose: This study explored the relationship between non-suicidal self-harm and suicidal ideation and examined the mediating role of frustrated interpersonal needs on the relationship between non-suicidal self-harm and suicidal ideation based on the Interpersonal Theory of Suicide. Methods: A cross-sectional, descriptive study was conducted with 333 college students in Korea. Subjects completed a packet of self-report questionnaires through an on-line survey. The analyses were conducted with IBM SPSS Statistics 25 using descriptive statistics, independent T-test, one-way ANOVA, and Pearson’s correlation coefficients. Bootstrapping was adopted for significance tests regarding the mediation effect. Results: Among the subjects, 156 students (46.8%) had non-suicide self-harm experiences. The levels of suicidal ideation were significantly different by gender. Students with experiences of non-suicidal self-harm reported significantly higher levels of frustrated interpersonal needs and suicidal ideation than thosewithout such experiences. The relationship between non-suicidal self-harm and intensity of suicidal ideation was partially mediated by thwarted belongingness, but not perceived burdensomeness. Conclusion: Findings of this study suggest the inclusion of effective strategies that can have a positive effect on ameliorating thwarted belongingness in developing suicide prevention programs for college students with experiences of non-suicidal self-harm.