Exploring the Mediating Role of Mentalization in the Relationship Between Attachment Styles and Suicidal Ideation in a Non-Clinical Pakistani Sample

Abstract

The aim of the current study is to determine the relationship between attachment styles, mentalization, and suicidal ideation using a quantitative correlational survey design in a non-clinical Pakistani sample. A purposive-convenience sampling technique was employed to recruit N = 295 adults (males, n = 81; females, n = 214) from Pakistan, aged 18 to 55 years (M = 23.07, SD = 5.37), using a Google survey. It was hypothesized that there is a relationship between attachment styles, mentalization, and suicidal ideation. Moreover, it was also hypothesized that there is a relationship between anxious attachment style and self-mentalization. To test the hypotheses, data were collected through three questionnaires: the Mentalization Scale (MentS), the Revised Adult Attachment Scale (RAAS), and the Suicidal Ideation Attributes Scale (SIDAS). The study's results were analyzed using SPSS 29.0.1.0. The findings revealed that attachment styles have a relationship with mentalization, self-mentalization (MentS-S), and suicidal ideation, whereas no significant correlation was found between mentalization and suicidal ideation. Only self-mentalization was found to have a negative correlation with suicidal ideation (r = −0.14, p = .01). Anxious attachment style was found to have a negative correlation with self-mentalization (r = −0.42, p = .01) and a positive correlation with suicidal ideation (r = 0.26, p = .01). The current findings underscore the importance of integrating emotional regulation strategies in therapeutic work with individuals with anxious attachment styles to prevent the development of suicidal ideation.