Chinese versions of the Interpersonal Needs Questionnaire: Psychometric properties, measurement invariance across gender and cultures

Understanding suicidal ideation-a network analysis of the Interpersonal Needs Questionnaire

INTRODUCTION

Identifying various interacting risk factors for suicidality is important to develop preventive measures. The Interpersonal-Psychological Theory of Suicidal Behavior (IPTS) postulates suicidal ideation resulting from the occurrence of Perceived Burdensomeness (PB) and Thwarted Belongingness (TB). Suicidal behavior ultimately occurs if people have a Capability for Suicide. In past studies, the validity of TB was often not empirically confirmed, questioning which of the aspects of TB are central and related to suicidal ideation and whether applied measurement methods adequately capture the construct.

METHOD

Using a sample of 3,404 individuals from different clinical and nonclinical settings, 30% (1,023) of whom reported suicidal ideation, two network analyses were conducted on the Interpersonal Needs Questionnaire (INQ) and a variable mapping suicidal ideation.

RESULTS

Analyses revealed that some items of the INQ were not related to suicidal ideation and the most central items did not have the strongest associations to suicidal ideation.

CONCLUSION

Based on these results, a shortened version of the INQ with the four items that showed the strongest associations with suicidal ideation in the network analyses was suggested.

Perceived abusive supervision and graduate students' suicidal ideation: from the perspective of interpersonal psychological theory of suicide

BACKGROUND

In recent years, the issue of suicide caused by the stress of a contradictory relationship between graduate students and academic supervisors has aroused heated discussion in society. Based on the interpersonal psychological theory of suicide, this study aims to examine the influence of the perceived abusive supervision on graduate students' suicidal ideation and the parallel mediating roles of thwarted belongingness and perceived burdensomeness.

METHODS

We conducted a cross-sectional online survey measuring perceived abusive supervision, interpersonal psychological needs and suicidal ideation among 232 Chinese graduate students. A structural equation model was constructed to test the hypothesis.

RESULTS

The results showed that abusive supervision directly exacerbated suicidal ideation (β = 0.160, 95% CI = [0.038, 0.281], p = 0.009) and indirectly influenced suicidal ideation through thwarted belongingness (β = 0.059, 95% CI = [0.008, 0.110], p = 0.019) and perceived burdensomeness (β = 0.102, 95% CI = [0.013, 0.191], p = 0.018). The indirect effect accounted for 50.15% of the overall effect.

CONCLUSIONS

These findings enrich our understanding of the influence of supervisor-student relationship by integrating the literatures on educational and organizational behaviour, and provide practical insights for psychosocial interventions from the perspective of the interpersonal psychological theory of suicide.

Perceived stress from interpersonal relations predicts suicidal ideation in Chinese university students: Roles of meaning in life and coping humor

Existing studies emphasize that interpersonal relationships are closely associated with the increased risk of suicidal ideation (SI). However, the mechanism underlying this association remains poorly understood. In this study, we investigated how and under what conditions the perceived stress from interpersonal relations links to SI. Also we explored the possible important roles of meaning in life and coping humor. A total of 1472 Chinese freshmen completed self-reported questionnaires of thwarted belongingness (TB), fear of negative evaluation (FNE), meaning in life, coping humor, and SI. Our results showed that SI was associated with more TB and FNE, and it was linked to less meaning in life and coping humor. Importantly, two dimensions of meaning in life mediated the associations between TB, FNE, and SI. Specifically, TB increased SI by destroying both presence of meaning and search for meaning while FNE increased SI by destroying presence of meaning, but not by search for meaning. Additionally, coping humor attenuated the effect of FNE on SI. Our findings highlight the protective roles of meaning in life and coping humor in the link between perceived stress from interpersonal relations and SI among Chinese university students. These results provide feasible advices for practitioners to carry out suicide prevention and intervention.

A Longitudinal Network Analysis of the Interactions of Risk and Protective Factors for Suicidal Potential in Early Adolescents

Few studies have applied the "ideation-to-action" theories and the buffering hypothesis of resilience to suicide in early adolescents, and existing research is primarily cross-sectional. This study examined the interactions between risk factors (i.e., thwarted belongingness, perceived burdensomeness, and hopelessness), protective factors (i.e., resilience, self-efficacy, and subjective happiness), and suicidal potential (i.e., family distress, anxious-impulsive depression, and suicidal ideation or acts) in early adolescents. The participants (N = 1615; 55.6% females; M _age = 10.93, SD _age = 1.14, range: 9-15) who were recruited from four primary and four secondary schools in Hong Kong completed the survey in 2020 and 2021. The contemporaneous networks suggested that perceived burdensomeness and hopelessness were positively associated with suicidal potential. Protective factors were negatively associated with risk factors studied and suicidal potential. The node with the greatest centrality strength was anxious-impulsive depression. The nodes most likely to connect with other constructs were self-efficacy and hopelessness. A temporal network suggested the predictive effect of hopelessness and the protective effect of subjective happiness on future suicidal ideation or acts. Moreover, self-efficacy was found to buffer the impact of hopelessness on future suicidal ideation or acts. These findings highlighted the contribution of hopelessness to suicidal potential among early adolescents and the buffering effects of subjective happiness and self-efficacy.

Transition from Depression to Suicidal Attempt in Young Adults: The Mediation Effect of Self-Esteem and Interpersonal Needs

BACKGROUND

Depression increases the risk of suicide. Depression and suicide attempts are significantly impacted by low self-esteem and interpersonal needs (i.e., thwarted belongingness (TB) and perceived burdensomeness (PB)). More research is required to clarify how these factors affected the change from depression to suicidal attempts, which would dramatically lower the suicide fatality rate. We sought to examine the mediating roles of self-esteem, TB, and PB in Chinese young adults, since previous research shows that self-esteem has a strong relationship with TB, while TB and PB have strong relationships with suicide attempts.

METHODS

Measures on depression, interpersonal needs, and attempted suicide were completed by a sample of 247 Chinese social media users who had stated suicidal ideation online.

RESULTS

The findings showed that people who attempted suicide had significantly higher levels of TB and PB. Suicidal attempts were also impacted by depression via the mediational chains, which included self-esteem, TB, and PB.

CONCLUSIONS

Our findings might contribute to the expansion of the interpersonal theory of suicide and have an impact on effective suicide prevention.

Perceived Burdensomeness, Thwarted Belongingness, and Social Exclusion in Transgender Women: Psychometric Properties of the Interpersonal Needs Questionnaire

Transgender women (TGW) experience serious psychiatric problems and high suicide rates. According to the interpersonal theory of suicide, thwarted belongingness and perceived burdensomeness play major roles in suicidality and can be measured by the Interpersonal Needs Questionnaire (INQ). However, no study has validated the use of the INQ in TGW. This study aimed to examine the psychometric properties of the INQ among TGW. We recruited 198 TGW (mean age 38.47 years) from Shenyang, China, using snowball sampling. The construct validity of the INQ was assessed through factor analysis, and convergent and divergent validity were examined through a structural equation model with other psychosocial factors. The construct validation analysis supported a three-factor model (perceived burdensomeness, thwarted belongingness, and social exclusion) with satisfactory fit indices: χ²/df = 1.54, RMSEA = 0.052, CFI = 0.931, TLI = 0.916, SRMR = 0.053. The thwarted belongingness was significantly associated with self-esteem and social support, and the social exclusion was significantly associated with loneliness, depression, entrapment, and defeat, suggesting satisfactory convergent and divergent validity for the three-factor model. The present findings indicate that for TGW, high social exclusion is important in assessing perceived interpersonal needs, while the notable deviation from previous two-factor model warrants further study.

Thwarted Belongingness Hindered Successful Aging in Chinese Older Adults: Roles of Positive Mental Health and Meaning in Life

Aging of population has brought great challenges to many regions throughout the world. It has been demonstrated that interpersonal relationship is closely related to the experiences of aging for older adults. However, it still remains unknown how and under what conditions thwarted belongingness links to successful aging. This study examined the relationship between thwarted belongingness and successful aging and tested the mediating role of positive mental health and the moderating role of meaning in life. Community-dwelling older adults (n = 339) aged 60-75 years recruited in Chongqing, China completed self-measures of thwarted belongingness, successful aging, meaning in life, and positive mental health. Correlation analyses showed that successful aging was associated with less thwarted belongingness, better positive mental health, and higher levels of meaning in life. Positive mental health was found to totally mediate the negative effect of thwarted belongingness on successful aging. Moderated mediation analyses further revealed that two components of meaning in life (present of meaning and search for meaning) attenuated the indirect effect of thwarted belongingness on successful aging via positive mental health. This study highlights the protective roles of positive mental health and meaning in life and addressed cultural aspects in the process of successful aging among Chinese older adults.

Psychometric Properties of Interpersonal Needs Questionnaire-15 for Predicting Suicidal Ideation among Migrant Industrial Workers in China

OBJECTIVE

Interpersonal theories of suicide suggest that the Interpersonal Needs Questionnaire (INQ) can be used to measure suicidal ideation, but few studies have focused on migrant people, a group with a high prevalence of suicidal ideation. The aim of this study was to validate the psychometric properties of the INQ-15 and its prediction of suicidal ideation among migrant industrial workers in China.

METHOD

A stratified multi-stage sample of 2023 industrial workers was recruited from 16 factories in Shenzhen, China. There were 1805 nonlocal workers, which we defined as migrant workers with a mean age of 32.50 ± 8.43 years old who were 67.3% male. The structure of the Chinese version of the INQ-15 and its correlation and predictive utility for suicidal ideation were examined through factor analysis, the Item Response Theory, the M2 test, logistic regression, and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis.

RESULTS

Different from studies among various samples in which a two-factor solution is identified, results within this sample indicated three factors: perceived burdensomeness, thwarted belongingness, and social isolation. The model fit statistics of three-factor INQ were 0.075 for RMSEA, 0.945 for CFI, 0.932 for TLI, and 0.067 for SRMR. The model standard estimated factor loadings ranged from 0.366 to 0.869. The summed scores of INQ and perceived burdensomeness predicted suicidal ideation after controlling for sociodemographic characteristics such as age, gender, and income with AUC of 0.733 (95% CI: 0.712/0.754) and 0.786 (95% CI: 0.766/0.804). In the meantime, the comparison of the predictive ability between INQ total scores and PB scores was significant with p < 0.05.

CONCLUSION

The INQ has good psychometric properties and can be used to assess how migrant workers living in the Shenzhen perceive meeting interpersonal psychological needs and shows good predictive ability of suicidal ideation. Perceived burdensomeness appears to play a role in suicide and may be a point of intervention, yet the notable deviation from previous findings and the relative weakness of two of the other factors warrant further study.