Predicting Suicidal Tendency Based on Rumination, Distress Tolerance, and Loneliness in Women Experiencing Emotional Divorce

Abstract

This study aimed to predict suicidal tendency based on rumination, distress tolerance, and loneliness among women experiencing emotional divorce. A descriptive correlational research design was employed. The statistical population consisted of women experiencing emotional divorce who attended counseling centers and psychological clinics in Shiraz because of marital problems in 2024. Using convenience sampling, 180 eligible women were recruited. Data were collected using Gottman’s Emotional Divorce Questionnaire, the Beck Scale for Suicide Ideation, the Ruminative Response Styles Questionnaire developed by Nolen-Hoeksema and Morrow, the Russell, Peplau, and Cutrona Loneliness Scale, and the Simons and Gaher Distress Tolerance Scale. The data were analyzed using Pearson correlation coefficients and multiple regression analysis in SPSS. Pearson correlation analysis indicated that suicidal ideation was positively and significantly associated with ruminative responses, distraction-related responses, and loneliness, whereas it was negatively and significantly associated with the dimensions of distress tolerance (p≤0.01). The multiple regression model was statistically significant (F=77.669, p<0.001), and the predictor variables collectively explained 40.7% of the variance in suicidal ideation. Ruminative responses (β=0.367, p<0.001), distraction-related responses (β=0.287, p=0.005), and loneliness (β=0.399, p<0.001) positively and significantly predicted suicidal ideation. In contrast, emotional distress tolerance (β=-0.265, p=0.005), absorption (β=-0.299, p<0.001), and regulation (β=-0.311, p<0.001) negatively and significantly predicted suicidal ideation. The appraisal dimension of distress tolerance was not a significant predictor of suicidal ideation (β=-0.132, p=0.179). Higher levels of rumination and loneliness, together with lower capacities for tolerating and regulating psychological distress, may increase vulnerability to suicidal ideation among women experiencing emotional divorce. Accordingly, psychological screening and interventions designed to reduce maladaptive rumination, improve distress-tolerance and emotion-regulation skills, and strengthen social support and interpersonal connectedness may contribute to suicide prevention and mental health promotion in this vulnerable population.