Hopelessness Appraisals of Stressors and Suicidal Ideation: The Moderating Role of Girls' Expressed Vulnerability to a Close Friend Following Stressor Exposure.

Rates of suicidal ideation and exposure to stressors both increase dramatically for girls during adolescence. As stress increases, girls’ friendships become important outlets for coping with stress. The current study used a multimethod approach to examine the combined influence of stressor-related cognitions (i.e., hopelessness appraisals of personal stressors) and observationally coded behaviors during girls’ interactions with a close friend as predictors of short-term risk for suicidal ideation. The sample comprised 231 youth assigned female at birth (Mage=14.70, SD = 1.36), who completed a lab visit with a close friend. Participants underwent an in vivo stressor paradigm and then engaged in a discussion with their friend, which was coded for expressed vulnerability (i.e., negative, self-directed thoughts or emotions) and close friend support. Girls who endorsed more hopeless appraisals of current life stressors at baseline were more likely to report suicidal ideation three months later if they displayed higher levels of expressed vulnerability when discussing an acute stressor with their friend. Friend support did not moderate the association between hopeless stressor appraisals and future suicidal ideation. Findings suggest that how girls think about stressors may combine with how they talk about stressors with close friends to influence suicidal ideation risk.