Graduation Year

2026

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree

Ph.D.

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)

Degree Granting Department

Psychology

Major Professor

Jon Rottenberg, Ph.D.

Co-Major Professor

Fallon Goodman, Ph.D.

Committee Member

Jack Darkes, Ph.D.

Committee Member

Marc Karver, Ph.D.

Committee Member

Kristen Salomon, Ph.D.

Committee Member

Brent Small, Ph.D.

Keywords

Interpersonal Theory, Real time assessment, Suicidal Ideation, resilience

Abstract

Suicidal ideation (SI) fluctuates substantially over short timescales, and the Interpersonal Theory of Suicide proposes that suicidal thinking emerges through dynamic interpersonal states involving perceived burdensomeness (PB), thwarted belongingness (TB), and hopelessness regarding these interpersonal states (IH). Although ecological momentary assessment (EMA) research has demonstrated that these risk factors fluctuate meaningfully within individuals and are associated with short-term changes in SI, comparatively little research has examined interpersonal processes that may attenuate suicide risk in real time. Prosocial behavior — voluntary actions intended to benefit others — may represent one such process, yet no known EMA study has examined whether prosocial behavior mitigates short-term associations between interpersonal risk states and SI. To address this gap, adults (N = 90) with past-month SI completed EMA surveys assessing PB, TB, IH, prosocial behavior, passive SI, and suicidal desire seven times daily across 14 days. Multilevel models examined concurrent, prospective, and change associations between interpersonal risk factors and SI, and whether prosocial behavior moderated these associations. Consistent with IPT, PB and TB were robustly associated with passive SI, whereas IH demonstrated strong associations with suicidal desire. Prosocial behavior was associated with lower concurrent SI and consistently attenuated associations between interpersonal risk states and suicidal thinking across all model types; in several analyses, interpersonal risk factors predicted increases in SI only when prosocial behavior was absent. Exploratory findings suggested that perceived social impact and autonomous motivation may further shape the benefits of prosocial engagement. Together, these findings suggest that prosocial behavior may function as a proximal interpersonal resilience process and a novel, modifiable target for attenuating short-term suicide risk.

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