Loss of Hope and Suicide Risk in Hungarian College Students

Abstract

We examined hope and family support as predictors of suicide risk (viz., anxious symptoms, depressive symptoms, and suicide ideation) in a sample of 502 Hungarian college students. Results of hierarchical regression analyses indicated that the inclusion of family support provided further incremental validity in predicting all three indices of suicide risk beyond the variance accounted for by hope. Consistent with the notion that family support might moderate the beneficial effects of hope on suicide risk, evidence for a significant Hope × Family Support interaction effect in predicting all three indices of suicide risk was found. Additionally, a significant interaction effect in predicting suicide ideation remained, even after controlling for psychological symptoms. Beyond the role of hope in predicting suicide risk in Hungarian college students, the present findings show how family support both additively and interactively represents a positive psychological resource that should be considered in understanding suicide risk among students.