Suicidal Ideation and Cognitive Distortions among Undergraduate Students

Abstract

Suicide is a public health problem and one of the leading causes of death (World Health Organisation [WHO], 2021). Cognitive distortions act as risk factors for causing and promoting suicidal thoughts in every Individual. Some more insights in this area are crucial to know to make more effective conclusions to prevent it from happening in the general population, especially among youth. It is important to know and increase knowledge about the causes of suicide and the genesis of suicidal thoughts among undergraduate students. The current study looked into the connection between suicidal thoughts and cognitive distortions in undergraduate students. The study sample comprised 120 students from the various colleges of Hisar. The tools used in current study were the Suicidal Ideation scale developed by Sisodia and Bhatnagar (2011) and Cognitive Distortions Scale developed by Briere (2000). The outcome demonstrated that there is a significant positive correlation between suicidal ideation and cognitive distortions. Cognitive distortions have the potential to develop suicidal tendencies among students. The significance of cognitive distortions in understanding suicidal ideation is highlighted by the findings, which may have consequences for treatment and prevention strategies.