A Comparative Examination of the Intolerance of Uncertainty among Students Who are at Risk of Suicide and those Who are not at Risk of Suicide

Abstract

The aim of the current research is to investigate the prevalence of suicidal thoughts and behaviors in relation to the level of intolerance of uncertainty in male and female students. The study was divided into two stages. In the first stage, the Suicide Behavior Questionnaire-Revised (SBQ-R), was administered to 1,000 students at college to assess their levels of suicidal ideation and behaviors. These students were pursuing their education in many different fields. Of these 1,000 students, 130 students with scores of ≥ 7 on the SBQ-R were selected as participants for the second stage after consideration of the inclusion/exclusion criteria. An equal number of participants, i.e., 129 students, with minimum levels of suicidal ideation were selected as the non-suicidal participants. Two instruments were utilized in the current research; one instrument measured rumination/reflection while the other measured suicide behavior. The participants were recruited from different colleges/universities located in the state of Bihar. As far as gender was concerned, there were 259 participants; 126 of which were female and the remaining 133 were male. The ages of the participants varied between 20 and 30 years. In the present study, a purposeful sampling strategy was employed. Results indicated that the individuals with high suicide risk reported significantly higher levels of intolerance of uncertainty compared to those in the non-suicide risk group. Additionally, gender differences were noted within the groups. Male participants reported greater levels of intolerance of uncertainty than did female participants in both groups. The dimension-wise findings yielded similar results within groups and gender.