Rational?• African American women who attempted

suicide were more likely than Caucasian women to have a history of significant abuse

Mechanisms by which partner abuse leads to suicidal behavior• Why might this be important?

African American women at hospital following suicide attempt (n=148)• Mostly unmarried, unemployed, limited

literacy and education African American women at hospital

for medical problems without a suicidal history (n=137)• Mostly employed, higher education than

attempters

Measures • Hopelessness Scale• Brief Michigan Alcoholism Screening Test

(MAST)• Brief Drug Abuse Screening Test (DAST)• Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI)• Preliminary Strategic Approach to Coping Scale

(P-SACS)• Family Strengths • Perceived Social Support (PSS)

Potential Issues?

African American women who attempted suicide were more likely to report physical and nonphysical abuse than their non attempting counterparts

1. The IV must be associated with the predicted mediator

2. The predicted mediator must be associated with the DV

3. When statistically controlled for; association between the IV and DV should be non-significant or significantly reduced.

Psychological Distress

HOPELESSNESS DRUG USE PROBLEMS

1. The interaction between the IV and the predicted moderator must be significant when predicting the outcome variable

Example: The interaction between partner abuse and coping skills must be significant when predicting suicide attempt status

Social support moderated the partner abuse-suicide behavior link.

Nonphysical partner abuse provided predictive utility for suicide attempt status beyond that already accounted for by childhood maltreatment

Physical partner abuse did not

Importance in assessing for suicide in women who are currently victims of IPV

Evaluating hopelessness and psychological distress in women who are current victims of IPV

Including the development of social supports in treatment with women who are current victims of IPV