Emotional Abuse and Suicidal Behavior among Young Adults: The Moderating Role of Emotional Intelligence

Abstract

Emotional abuse, especially during childhood and early adulthood, is known to be a major risk factor for suicidal thoughts and behaviors. Although there is emerging evidence of this association, the psychological pathways by which emotional abuse may lead to suicidality are not well understood. The direct linkage between emotional abuse and suicidal behavior is investigated and emotional intelligence is explored as a possible moderator of this linkage with university students. The cross-sectional quantitative design was used and data were collected from 255 university students (Male = 119, Female = 136) aged 18 to 25 years from 4 universities in Multan, Pakistan. The following validated tools were used: Rating of Emotional Abuse in Childhood Questionnaire (REACH), Suicide Behaviors Questionnaire-Revised (SBQ-R) and the Wong and Law Emotional Intelligence Scale (WLEIS). Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) was used for the data analysis. Results showed that emotional abuse was significantly associated with suicidal behaviour (beta = 0.346, t = 5.315, p < 0.001) and that suicidal behaviour increased with higher exposure to emotional abuse. The positive relationship between emotional intelligence and the detrimental effect of emotional abuse was found to be statistically significant and emotional intelligence was established as a protective buffer against the detrimental effect of emotional abuse. The results of these findings point towards the importance of including emotional intelligence development within mental health and suicide prevention programs that focus on young adults.