The Interplay Between Suicide Risk, Cognitive Vulnerability, Subjective Happiness and Depression Among Students

The present study assessed the association among risk and resilience factors (hopelessness, depression, subjective happiness) that contribute to suicidal behaviors in Italian youth. The sample consisted of 253 Italian high school adolescents (mean age = 18.09, SD = 0.57; 137 males; 116 females) who were administered a demographic questionnaire, the Suicide History Self-Rating Screening Scale, the Beck Depression Inventory II, the Beck Hopelessness Scale, the Attitude Toward Self-Revised Scale, and the Subjective Happiness Scale. Depressive symptoms were positively associated with cognitive vulnerabilities (trait-like tendencies to interpret information in a negative and distorted way when encountering a perceived stressful event) and negatively associated with subjective happiness. Participants with an elevated suicide risk also reported increased depressive symptoms, more cognitive vulnerabilities, and less subjective happiness. Moreover, depressive symptoms significantly mediated the relation between subjective happiness and suicide risk. The findings suggest that in order to prevent suicidal behavior in adolescents, clinicians should consider both risk and protective factors, particularly those that strengthen competencies and build self-esteem. Schools should employ a more positive approach that promotes resilience and enhances protective factors to reduce depressive symptoms and suicidality among youth.