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Defining despair: Assessing the multidimensionality of despair and its association with suicidality and substance use in early to middle adulthood.

Publication ,  Journal Article
Gutin, I; Copeland, W; Godwin, J; Mullan Harris, K; Shanahan, L; Gaydosh, L
Published in: Soc Sci Med
March 2023

Despite considerable scientific interest in documenting growing despair among U.S. adults, far less attention has been paid to defining despair and identifying appropriate measures. Emerging perspectives from social science and psychiatry outline a comprehensive, multidimensional view of despair, inclusive of individuals' cognitive, emotional, biological and somatic, and behavioral circumstances. The current study assesses the structure and plausibility of this framework based on longitudinal data spanning early to middle adulthood. We identified 40 measures of different dimensions of despair in Wave IV (2008-2009) of the National Longitudinal Study of Adult to Adolescent Health (n = 9149). We used structural equation modeling to evaluate hypothesized relationships among observed and latent variables; we then regressed Wave V (2016-2018) suicidality, heavy drinking, marijuana use, prescription drug misuse, and illicit drug use on latent despair. Our analyses find that models for separate dimensions of despair and overall despair demonstrated excellent fit. Overall despair was a significant predictor of Wave V outcomes, especially suicidality, accounting for 20% of its variation, as compared to 1%-7% of the variation in substance use. Suicidality was consistently associated with all domains of despair; behavioral despair explained the most variation in substance use. Given these results we contend that, lacking direct measures, latent despair can be modeled using available survey items; however, some items are likely better indicators of latent dimensions of despair than others. Moreover, the association between despair and key health behaviors varies considerably, challenging its status as a mechanism simultaneously underlying increased substance use and suicide mortality in the United States. Critically, further validation of measures in other surveys can improve the operationalization of despair and its associated conceptual and theoretical frameworks, thus advancing our understanding of this concept.

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Published In

Soc Sci Med

DOI

EISSN

1873-5347

Publication Date

March 2023

Volume

320

Start / End Page

115764

Location

England

Related Subject Headings

  • United States
  • Suicide
  • Suicidal Ideation
  • Substance-Related Disorders
  • Public Health
  • Longitudinal Studies
  • Humans
  • Emotions
  • Adult
  • Adolescent
 

Citation

APA
Chicago
ICMJE
MLA
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Gutin, I., Copeland, W., Godwin, J., Mullan Harris, K., Shanahan, L., & Gaydosh, L. (2023). Defining despair: Assessing the multidimensionality of despair and its association with suicidality and substance use in early to middle adulthood. Soc Sci Med, 320, 115764. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2023.115764
Gutin, Iliya, William Copeland, Jennifer Godwin, Kathleen Mullan Harris, Lilly Shanahan, and Lauren Gaydosh. “Defining despair: Assessing the multidimensionality of despair and its association with suicidality and substance use in early to middle adulthood.Soc Sci Med 320 (March 2023): 115764. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2023.115764.
Gutin I, Copeland W, Godwin J, Mullan Harris K, Shanahan L, Gaydosh L. Defining despair: Assessing the multidimensionality of despair and its association with suicidality and substance use in early to middle adulthood. Soc Sci Med. 2023 Mar;320:115764.
Gutin, Iliya, et al. “Defining despair: Assessing the multidimensionality of despair and its association with suicidality and substance use in early to middle adulthood.Soc Sci Med, vol. 320, Mar. 2023, p. 115764. Pubmed, doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2023.115764.
Gutin I, Copeland W, Godwin J, Mullan Harris K, Shanahan L, Gaydosh L. Defining despair: Assessing the multidimensionality of despair and its association with suicidality and substance use in early to middle adulthood. Soc Sci Med. 2023 Mar;320:115764.
Journal cover image

Published In

Soc Sci Med

DOI

EISSN

1873-5347

Publication Date

March 2023

Volume

320

Start / End Page

115764

Location

England

Related Subject Headings

  • United States
  • Suicide
  • Suicidal Ideation
  • Substance-Related Disorders
  • Public Health
  • Longitudinal Studies
  • Humans
  • Emotions
  • Adult
  • Adolescent