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Despite the well-documented relations between intimate partner violence and suicidal ideation, gender differences regarding the relationships between intimate partner violence types and suicidal ideation are less understood. In addition, few studies have examined the risk that harassment may confer for suicidal ideation in the context of intimate partner violence. This study examined gender differences in the associations of harassment, emotional, and physical intimate partner violence with suicidal ideation in 502 college students, while controlling for the influence of depressive symptoms. Results indicated that physical abuse, but not harassment or emotional abuse, was associated with increased suicidal ideation in men. In contrast, emotional abuse, but not physical abuse or harassment, was associated with increased suicidal ideation in women. Clinicians should consider potential gender differences in the impact of intimate partner violence on suicidal ideation when assessing suicide risk.
Keywords: dating violence; physical abuse; emotional abuse; harassment; suicidal ideation
Suicidal ideation is a significant health concern among college students, with 10% experiencing suicidal ideation in the past month (Garlow et al., 2008). Identifying risk factors for suicidal ideation among college students is vital, given that it precedes suicide attempts and death by suicide (Joiner, Walker, Rudd, & Jobes, 1999). Intimate partner violence (IPV) is an understudied risk factor for suicidal ideation among college students despite its alarming prevalence in this population, with victimization rates as high as 37% for physical abuse and 90% for emotional abuse (Eshelman & Levendosky, 2012; Shorey, Cornelius, & Bell, 2008). Examining the link between IPV and suicidal ideation in college students will aid suicide prevention efforts in this vulnerable population.
The literature demonstrates that abused men and women experience suicidal ideation at a considerably higher rate (17.6%-68.7%) than in the general population (3.7%; Crosby, Han, Ortega, Parks, & Gfroerer, 2011; Golding, 1999; Pico-Alfonso et al., 2006; Schneider, Burnette, Ilgen, & Timko, 2009). Depression may explain the relation between IPV and suicidal ideation (Leiner, Compton, Houry, & Kaslow, 2008) because it is a common mental disorder among IPV victims (Golding, 1999; Randle & Graham, 2011) and individuals who die by suicide (Conwell et al., 1996). However, the role of depressive symptoms in the prediction of suicidal ideation may depend on the victims' gender. Studies support IPV as a unique risk factor for...