Risk and protective factors of suicidality in New Zealand young adult males.

For the past three decades New Zealand’s suicide rates have continued to grow. Young adult males are disproportionally represented in these statistics, particularly in those from rural areas (Beautrais, 2018; Pearce et al., 2007). Psychological risk factors of suicide have been widely documented in the current literature, however, they have often failed to enhance our understanding of the underlying mechanisms that perpetuate and protect against suicidal ideation and behaviour (suicidality). Hopelessness, in particular, has been consistently demonstrated as strong predictor of suicidality. An emerging protective factor, called grit, has been demonstrated to weaken this relationship between hopelessness and suicide (Pennings et al., 2015). The aims of the present study were to examine psychological risk and protective factors associated with suicidality and explore the similarities and differences among these factors between rural- and urban-based individuals. The study further examined the effect of grit on the relationship between hopelessness and suicidality. A total of 440 young adult males who self-identified as either urban (N=333) or rural (N=107) completed an online questionnaire assessing factors associated with suicidality. Hopelessness and grit were significantly positively and negatively associated, respectively with suicidality in the sample as a whole and amongst the subgroup of urban individuals. However, these associations were not seen amongst rural individuals. The results also further provided support for grit as a protective buffer on the relationship between hopelessness and suicidality. Tentatively, though insignificant, the rural subgroup’s results suggested high levels of grit may possibly have the opposite effect that is intended on the relationship between hopelessness and suicidality. Overall, these findings provide further insight into the complex interrelationships between grit, hopelessness and suicidality and a move towards strength-based approaches of suicide intervention