Two hundred and nine diverse undergraduates participated in a four-week prospective study.
Results of a moderated Poisson regression analysis demonstrate that enhancing attributional style buffers the relationship between baseline depressive symptoms and followup suicidal ideation, controlling for baseline depressive symptoms. A mediated moderation analysis using structural equation modeling did not support the hypothesis that the reduction in suicidal ideation was due to a reduction in depressive symptoms.
Limitations include an unselected college sample with a low base rate of suicidal ideation, the use of self-report measures, and assessing only suicidal ideation not behaviors.
Results suggest that enhancing attributional style is a viable protective factor in suicide. Moreover, the buffering effect is due to direct reduction in suicidal ideation, rather than simply a reduction in depressive symptoms. Since attributional styles are modifiable, findings suggest that modifying negative attributional styles can be useful to prevent suicide in a clinical setting.