The relationship between insecure attachment and suicidal ideation
Research type
Research Study
Full title
The relationship between insecure attachment and suicidal ideation in adolescents: a mixed method study
IRAS ID
332885
Contact name
Xingyu Wang
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Manchester
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
N/A, N/A
Duration of Study in the UK
2 years, 0 months, 31 days
Research summary
Globally, adolescent suicide is a major and growing public health concern, with the suicide rate among adolescents increasing in recent years. Suicidal ideation is one of the strongest predictors for suicide attempts and death by suicide in adolescence. According to previous studies, attachment theory may be a beneficial framework for understanding the aetiology of suicidal behaviours. Despite previous research and theory suggesting the existence of a relationship between attachment and suicidal ideation, the nature of this relationship in adolescents, such as whether specific insecure attachment has a stronger link with suicidal ideation and the mechanism underlying this relationship, is still unclear.
This mixed-methods study will investigate the relationship between insecure attachment and suicidal ideation among adolescents. Adolescents aged 16 to 24 who have suicidal ideation within the past three months will be recruited. This study is comprised of a quantitative phase and a qualitative phase. During the quantitative phase, we will examine the association between attachment insecurity and suicidal ideation in adolescents, as well as whether the observed association is explained by internal working model-related factors, including self-worth, emotion dysregulation, and interpersonal functioning. Several self-report questionnaires will be provided at baseline, and several daily items will be collected using the experience sampling method (ESM). A reminder will be sent to the participants' smartphones 10 times per day at random during their awake hours for the duration of 6 consecutive days. Participants in the ESM study will be asked to take part in a qualitative study, employing semi-structured interviews (upt to 60 minutes) to gain a deeper understanding of the role of the attachment relationship in the emergence of suicidal ideation or the overcoming of suicidal ideation. Some researh activities, including the screening interview, briefing, completeing baseline questionnaire, and semi-structured interview, may be conducted in private rooms on Trust premises or UoM.REC name
North East - Newcastle & North Tyneside 2 Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
24/NE/0037
Date of REC Opinion
1 Mar 2024
REC opinion
Unfavourable Opinion