A preliminary investigation of the relationship between internalized stigma, experiential avoidance, and suicidal thoughts and behaviors in college students

Abstract

Objective: Examine the relationship between internalized stigma, experiential avoidance (EA), and suicidal thoughts and behaviors (STBs) in a sample of college students, and explore whether EA accounts for part of the relationship between internalized stigma, EA, and STBs.

Participants: College students (N=78) completed online questionnaires about demographic information, internalized stigma, EA, and STBs.

Results: A simple mediation model evaluated the indirect effect of internalized stigma on STBs through EA, controlling for the presence of a mental health disorder diagnosis. Results: Internalized stigma, STBs, and EA were all positively correlated. EA partially mediated the relationship between internalized stigma and STBs.

Conclusion: Despite decades of research and prevention efforts, STBs remain a pervasive problem. There is an urgent need to identify modifiable predictors of STBs. Internalized stigma is a risk factor for STBs, and recent research suggests EA might be a mechanism linking internalized stigma and STBs. Our findings suggest EA might represent a modifiable mechanism of change in the context of both anti-stigmatization and suicide prevention programs.

Keywords:

• College students
• experiential avoidance
• stigma
• suicide

Conflict of interest disclosure

The authors have no conflicts of interest to report. The authors confirm that the research presented in this article met the ethical guidelines, including adherence to the legal requirements, of United States of America and received approval from Hofstra University.

Funding

No funding was used to support this research and/or the preparation of the manuscript.