Alice in Suicideland: Exploring the Suicidal Ideation Mechanism through the Sense of Connectedness and Help-Seeking Behaviors

Abstract

On average, one person dies by suicide every 40 s. However, extant studies have largely focused on the risk factors for suicidal behaviors, not so much on the formation of suicidal thoughts. Therefore, we attempt to explain how suicidal thoughts arise and persist inside one’s mind using a multifiltering information mechanism called Mindsponge. Bayesian analysis with Hamiltonian Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) technique was run on a dataset of multinational students (N = 268) of an international university in Japan. Item 9 in the PHQ-9 was used to survey suicidal ideation. The associations among four main variables, namely, (i) suicidal ideation, (ii) help-seeking willingness (informal and formal sources), (iii) sense of connectedness, and (iv) information inaccessibility (represented by being international students), were tested in four models. Sense of connectedness is negatively associated with suicidal ideation, but its effect becomes less impactful when interacting with international students. The impact of a sense of connectedness on informal help-seeking willingness (toward family members) among international students is also lessened. Informal help-seeking is negatively associated with suicidal ideation, whereas formal help is positive. The findings support our assumption on three fundamental conditions for preventing suicidal thoughts: (i) a high degree of belongingness, (ii) accessibility to help-related information, and (iii) healthy perceived cultural responses towards mental health. Therefore, systematically coordinated programs are necessary to effectively tackle suicidal ideation.

Home scholarly culture, book selection reason, and academic performance: Pathways to book reading interest among secondary school students

“…Regarding the complexity of psychological processes and social issues, this characteristic also helps against the reproducibility crisis in psychological research [56]. The effectiveness of utilizing Bayesian analysis for investigating Mindsponge psychological processes was shown in a previous study [49].…”

Potential Help-Seeking Behaviors Associated with Better Self-Rated Health among Rural Older Patients: A Cross-Sectional Study

“…Furthermore, they may lack information on medical issues regarding isolation and access to healthcare information [10,11]. Older adults, particularly those in rural areas, collect information from television or newspapers [12], which indicates a lack of access to information and makes them distinct from younger generations [13,14]. Rural older patients lacking proper standards to act on their symptoms and anxiety may practice inappropriate HSB, such as excessive use of medical resources for mild symptoms, which, in turn, may lead to undesirable consequences for their health [15,16].…”

Impact of a Chaxu Atmosphere on Nurses’ Organizational Responsibility behavior—The Mediating Roles of Envy and Silence

“… 52 , 53 These nurses are in the “core-circle group” and receive more desirable assignments, rewards, and greater resources, and perceive themselves as receiving more support from the head nurse than do nurses among the “peripheral members.” 52 On the contrary, “peripheral member” nurses develop negative responses to their supervisor and organization, such as developing feelings of envy and silence in the face of hidden organizational flaws, resulting in lower organizational responsibility behavior. 49 Additionally, the Mindsponge mechanism proposed by Vuong and Napier, 54 an explanatory mechanism regarding the complexity of acculturation in a global context, 55 helps us better understand the positive association between envy and silence, indicating conflicting values. Since Chinese culture is simultaneously influenced by many religions, such as Buddhism, Confucianism, and Taoism, the cultural additivity level among Chinese people is high, causing them to develop a higher tolerance to conflicting values.…”