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European Psychiatry 24 (2009) 41e46

Original article

Suicidal ideation and time perspective in high school students

Fiorenzo Laghi*, Roberto Baiocco, Maria D’Alessio, Grazia Gurrieri

Faculty of Psychology, Department of Clinical Psychology, via dei Marsi 78, 00185 Rome, Italy

Received 6 March 2008; received in revised form 6 August 2008; accepted 26 August 2008

Available online 2 October 2008

Abstract

Objective. e Many studies have enlightened the relevance of deepening our knowledge of suicidal ideation among adolescents. However,research has given insufficient attention to the impact of time perspective on suicidal ideation: the present study confirms this relationship ina large sample of adolescents.

Method. e A survey was conducted on a sample of 3700 Italian adolescents. We obtained data using a structured questionnaire addressingsuicidal ideation, mental health status, self-esteem, individual and family characteristics, and time perspective (ZTPI) in three temporal frames:the past, present and future, and the attitude related to each one of them. Data were analyzed using bivariate and multivariate analyses.

Results. e Overall, 9.2% of the sample reported severe suicidal ideation during the past two weeks; 7.6% reported moderate suicidal ideation.Female adolescents were more likely to report severe suicidal ideation when compared to males (c(2)

2 ¼ 13.38, P¼ .001). There were nodifferences regarding age (c(1)

2 ¼ 2.81, P¼ .245) and SES (c(2)2 ¼ 8.67, P¼ .08).

The first discriminant function was mostly explained by psychopathological symptoms (General Global Index), self-esteem and twodimensions of the ZTPI (Negative Past and Fatalistic Present).

Conclusions. e Differences in time perspective dimensions between moderate and severe ideators suggest that these groups should beconsidered and analyzed as two discrete groups in further research.� 2008 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Suicidal ideation; Adolescence; Time perspective; Outcome

1. Introduction

1.1. Correlates of suicidal ideation in adolescence

Several epidemiological studies have identified previoussuicidal ideation as the most important risk factor for youthsuicide [2,16]. The term suicidal ideation refers to the occur-rence of any thought about self-destructive behaviour: suchthoughts may range from vague ideas about the possibility ofputting an end to one’s own life at some where in the future tovery concrete plans of committing suicide [17]. One of themost prominent correlates of suicidal ideation is hopelessness,although its importance may vary across age groups: its

* Tel.: þ39 0649917619; fax: þ39 0649917672.

E-mail address: fiorenzo.laghi@uniroma1.it (F. Laghi).

0924-9338/$ - see front matter � 2008 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

doi:10.1016/j.eurpsy.2008.08.006

correlation with suicidal thoughts, for example, may bestronger in undergraduate students and postgraduate femalestudents than in children and adolescents [5]. Usually, most ofstudies with adolescents from the community settings inves-tigated self-esteem and depression, rather than hopelessness,as psychological predictors of suicidal ideation [3]. Manystudies confirm that mental disorders are other significant riskfactors for both attempted and completed suicide, particularlyif complicated by antisocial disorders or substance abuse[11,18]. However, studies on adolescents have also shown thatdepression, negative life events and low social support havebeen associated with higher rates of suicidal ideation [21].Such as peer support relates to impairment among suicidaladolescents also needs to be better understood, and whethersupport from peers supplements, interacts with, or overlapswith other sources of support, appear to depend on the pop-ulation being studied [12]. Some studies have attempted to

42 F. Laghi et al. / European Psychiatry 24 (2009) 41e46

show the importance of both school and peer factors inadolescence, in addition to the salient family influences, asantecedents in the prediction of suicidal ideation [23].

1.2. Time perspective in adolescence

So far no studies have investigated, instead, the linkbetween time perspective and suicidal ideation.

According to time perspective theory, our representationsof ourselves, our world, and our relationships are filteredthrough temporally based cognitive processes. We learn toparcel the flow of personal experiences into the categories ofpast, present, and future [13].

Time perspective can be considered in many psychologicaldomains as the founding process of interpersonal and socialexperiences. The specific time dimension considered byZimbardo and Boyd implies assessment of the past, satisfac-tion of the present moment, vision of the self as passive andnot agentic and a capacity to view a future perspective.According to these researchers the concrete representation ofthe present is closely related to the construction of the past andto the anticipation of the future. Temporal perspective is a non-conscious process in which temporal categories play a leading-connective role in the relationship between personal and socialexperiences that help to give meaning and order to everydaylife events. Temporal cognitive frames are either used inencoding, storing and recalling events, as well as in formingexpectations, goals and imaginative views. Through abstracthypothetical modes of formal operational thought adolescentscan be prone to revise their inner representation of reality andconceptualize future events and possibilities that are not in thepresent. Thanks to their new abilities of hypothetical deductivethinking, adolescents can anticipate possibilities and lifescenarios that do not exist as irrespective of their practicalexperience, so they can work out their intentions and futureprojects [6].

Some evidence has linked time perspective indices tobehavioural outcomes: dimensions reflecting present orienta-tion and negative past were positively related to risky behav-iours (substance abuse, risky driving), whereas dimensionsreflecting future orientation were inversely related to the samerisk indexes [26,27].

Research has paid too poor attention to the impact ofperspective time on suicidal ideation: this study examines thisrelationship in a large sample of adolescents.

The relationship between time perspective and suicidalideation would be mediated by a negative image of one’s self,past experiences and future. The so-called depressive triadclearly has a mutual relationship, just as negative memoriesaffect depressive expectations about the future.

1.3. Aims of the study

According to researches on the relationship between riskybehaviours and time perspective [13,27], we hypothesized thatsome time perspective’s dimensions would discriminate severesuicidal ideators, moderate ideators and nonideators. In

particular we hypothesized that severe suicidal ideators, whencompared to moderate ideators and nonideators, tend todescribe more often negative past and fatalistic present, lesspositive and hedonistic present and less future orientation.Finally, as reported in previous western studies [16,18], wehypothesized that: (a) female adolescents would be morelikely than males to report suicidal ideation; (b) suicidalideation would be associated with psychopathological symp-toms, less self-esteem and less confidence in academiccompetence.

2. Methods

2.1. Participants and procedures

The sample consisted of 3700 Italian students of secondaryschool. Mean age in the sample was 16.57 (S.D.¼ 1.45;range¼ 14e19 years of age); the sample included femalestudents e 51.2% e and male students e 48.8%. Their parentswere asked to sign a permission form, allowing their childrento participate in the study. Only three parents refused to grantthis permission. Upon receiving parental permission, thequestionnaires were administered in the classroom duringa regular class period. Completing the questionnaires tookapproximately 30 min. Instructions stated that the question-naires were voluntary and that responses were anonymous andconfidential. All students responded to the same questionnairepacket.

2.2. Measures

2.2.1. DemographicsAn Identifying Information Form was used to collect

demographic informations, such as age, gender, educationalhistory, and socioeconomic status. The family socioeconomicstatus (SES) was defined by family income and education [9].Since the correlation between parents was high (r¼ .81), wecreated a single measure of educational level making the meanof mothers’ and fathers’ educational levels [10]. The ques-tionnaire also included questions concerning their friends andtheir spare time occupations, as well as the average marksreported last year in all fundamental courses they attended(marks ranging from 1 to 10).

2.2.2. Time perspectiveThe Time Perspective was measured using the Zimbardo

Time Perspective Inventory [6,26] in its Italian validatedversion for adolescents [15]. This instrument consists oftwenty-five item Likert-type scale, on which each item has fivepossible responses (from ‘strongly agree’ to ‘stronglydisagree’). The ZTPI is a multidimensional scale whichmeasures Time Perspective in three temporal frames: the past,present and future, and the attitude related to each of them. Itcontains the following 5 subscales: Positive Past (positiveconstruction of the past), Negative Past (aversive attitudetowards the past), Hedonistic Present (orientation towardsenjoyment and pleasure in the present), Fatalistic Present

Table 1

Sample characteristics

Characteristic n f %

GenderFemale 1893 51.2

Male 1807 48.8

Age (years)

14e16 1757 47.5

17e19 1943 52.5

Socioeconomic status

43F. Laghi et al. / European Psychiatry 24 (2009) 41e46

(hopeless, nihilistic attitude towards life) and Future (planningfor and achievement of future goals). Several reviews of timeperspective instruments have found the ZTPI to be a valid andreliable measure. The Italian version of the scale has goodpsychometric properties (internal reliability of the ZTPIranges from 0.74 to 0.84) and a divergent validity withdifferent measures of well-being with parents and peerattachment [15].

2.2.3. Mental health variablesThe Symptom Checklist-90-Revised [7] was used to

measure psychopathological disease. This instrument consistsof 90 items, including items associated with either personaldiscomfort of physical status, psychiatric symptoms andmental health status. The respondents answered itemschoosing among five alternatives for symptom occurrence:‘‘0’’¼ no symptoms at all; 1_a little bit, 2_moderately,3_quite a lot and 4_extremely often. The number was referredto the level of impact of the symptom in the last 2 weeks. Thescore of each item contributes one of the nine symptomdimensions: Somatization, ObsessiveeCompulsive, Interper-sonal Sensitivity, Depression, Anxiety, Hostility, PhobicAnxiety, Paranoid Ideation, Psychoticism. The main globalindices of the inventory include Global Severity Index (GSI)which is the sum of scores of all items divided by 90 (corre-sponding to the total number of items). We did not includeitem 15 and 59 of suicidal ideation. Miotto et al. [19] evalu-ated the SCL-90-R in Italian Version and approved its use withItalian adolescents.

2.2.4. Suicidal ideationLike other studies [17,8] we assessed current suicidal

ideation using the two items of the SCL-90-R pertaining tosuicide and death: item 15 ‘‘In the last 2 weeks, how muchhave you suffered because of . thoughts of ending your life’’and item 59: ‘‘. thoughts of death or dying’’. The two itemscorrelated at 0.74 (Pearson’s r). We included two measures ofsuicidal ideation: (1) severe suicidal ideation was consideredto be present with a score of 3 or more on both items; (2)moderate suicidal ideation was considered to be present witha score of 2 on both items. The first group was defined assevere ideators while the second as moderate ideators.

2.2.5. Self-esteemThe Rosenberg Self-esteem Scale (RSE) [22] measures

self-esteem, defined as respect and acceptance towardsoneself. This questionnaire consists of ten-item Likert-typescale, on which each item has four possible responses (from‘strongly agree’ to ‘strongly disagree’). Its well-establishedvalidity [14] has been supported for the Italian version [1].

Low 1430 38.6

Middle 1158 31.3

2.3. Statistical analyses Upper 1112 30.1

Suicidal ideation in past two weeksNone 3078 83.2

Severe suicidal ideation 341 9.2

Moderate suicidal ideation 281 7.6

The Statistical Package for the Social Science (SPSS) was usedto conduct bivariate and multivariate analyses relating to inde-pendent variables. Suicidal ideators (severe and moderate) werecompared to nonideators: Chi-square analyses were conducted to

assess group differences in sociodemographic characteristics.Group differences about psychological symptoms were analyzedusing MANCOVA. Post hoc analyses following MANCOVAwerecarried out using Duncan’s test to detect group differences(P< .05). A discriminant function analysis was conducted todetermine which variables best discriminate between three groups(severe ideators, moderate ideators and nonideators). Statisticalsignificance was set at the level of P< 0.01 (two-tailed) to controlfor multiple tests of significance.

3. Results

3.1. Prevalence of suicidal ideation: age, gender andfamily SES differences

Sample characteristics are presented in Table 1. The sample wasapproximately evenly divided for gender, age and socioeconomicstatus. Overall, 9.2% of the sample reported severe suicidal idea-tion during the past two weeks, while 7.6% reported moderatesuicidal ideation; the remaining 83.2% had never experiencedsuicidal ideation. When suicidal ideators (severe and moderate)were compared to nonideators, differences were found within thegroups only for gender: female adolescents were more likely toreport severe suicidal ideation than males (10.9% vs. 7.4%;c(2)

2 ¼ 13.38, P¼ .001). No differences were found concerning age(c(1)

2 ¼ 2.81, P¼ .245) and SES (c(2)2 ¼ 8.67, P¼ .08).

3.2. Psychopathological correlates of self-reportedsuicidal ideation in adolescents

MANCOVA was used to assess overall group differences inreporting psychological symptoms. We considered groups(severe ideators, moderate ideators and nonideators) as inde-pendent variable, while the SCL-90’s dimensions as dependentvariables in analysis and the gender as covariate. The MAN-COVA revealed the main effects for group (Wilks’sLambda¼ 0.77; F¼ 57.72; P< .001). Results from theunivariate tests and post hoc Duncan’s test are summarised

44 F. Laghi et al. / European Psychiatry 24 (2009) 41e46

separately for each dependent variable. The difference betweenthe three groups was significant as showed by the scores of ninesubscales of the SCL-90-R. Consistent with our hypothesis, posthoc test revealed that, compared with nonideator and moderategroups, severe ideators experienced more severe symptoms asmeasured by the SCL-90-R subscales (Table 2).

3.3. Severe ideators, moderate ideators and nonideators:discriminant function analysis

A discriminant function analysis was conducted to determinethe dimensions along which the three groups differ. As independentvariables we used the General Symptomatic Index (SCL-90), 5scale of the ZTPI (Positive Past, Negative Past, Hedonistic Present,Fatalistic Present and Future), Self-esteem as measured by RSEtotal scores, average marks reported last year in all fundamentalcourses and the number of friends met during spare time occupa-tions. Two significant functions emerged (c2

(18)¼ 1120.58,P< .001; c2

(8)¼ 15.81, P< .001) (Table 3). The first functionaccounted for most of the variance (98.78%). Structure matrix(Table 4) showed that function 1 was mostly explained bypsychopathological symptoms (General Global Index), self-esteem and two dimensions of the ZTPI (Negative Past andFatalistic Present). Variables concerning students’ time perspectivesuch as Future and Hedonistic Present, number of friends andmark’s average use appear to be the most important for function 2.An evaluation of the group centroids showed that function 1 bestseparates severe ideators from nonideators; however, function 2adds to differentiate moderate from severe ideators. The results ofdiscriminant classification show the 71.1% of subjects correctlyclassified (61.9% of severe ideators, 43.1% of moderate ideators,and 74.7% of nonideators).

4. Discussion

4.1. Suicidal ideation and principal correlates

This one is the first study addressing prevalence and timeperspective correlates of suicidal ideation among adolescents.

Table 2

Mean score on the SCL-90 subscales for three groups

Severe ideatorsa Moderate ideator

M SD M S

Somatization 1.42 0.74 1.26 0

Obsessiveecompulsive 1.80 0.68 1.71 0

Interpersonal sensitivity 1.88 0.79 1.53 0

Depression 1.95 0.79 1.53 0

Anxiety 1.70 0.72 1.34 0

Hostility 1.96 0.92 1.55 0

Phobic anxiety 1.16 0.87 0.69 0

Paranoid ideation 2.11 0.79 1.78 0

Psychoticism 1.74 0.72 1.18 0

We did not include item 15 and 59 for the scoring of depression scale.

*P< .001.a Severe ideators were those subjects with a score of 3 or more on both items 1b Moderate ideators were those subjects with a score of 2 on both items.c Nonideators obtained a score of 0 on both items.

Although some researchers [20] have argued that suicidalbehaviour should be conceptualized as a continuum fromthoughts to completion, there is evidence that even amongadolescents with moderate ideation, most of them do notactually make suicide attempt. Suicidal thoughts do notpredict an effective suicidal behaviour, and moderate ideationalone does not involve self-destructive behaviours [11].Developmental psychologists contend that the focus ofadolescents’ abstract thinking is on gaining a deeper and moreprofound self-awareness and adolescent behaviour can beexplained as a defense mechanism in response to the conflictarising from existential concerns of isolation and death. Ifcalled to a choice, adolescents are cognitively able to considersuicide in response to their developmental crisis, their searchfor identity and their attempt to find a meaning in their lives. Ifsuicidal ideation can be a common experience amongadolescents, it is important to distinguish moderate fromsevere ideation. Our results indicated that 9.2% of the samplereported severe suicidal ideation and 7.6% reported moderateideation during the past two weeks. Our esteem of suicidalideation appears to be comparable to those reported in someprevious studies [3,12] while others [16,18] indicate thatapproximately 30% of adolescents reported severe suicidalideation. In the last two researches cited, suicidal ideation wasmeasured by two different items of SCL-90-R: item 15, con-cerning suicidal thoughts, and item 54 concerning hopeless-ness while in this survey we considered both item 15 and item59 (thoughts of death or dying). We did not consider hope-lessness because most of the studies with adolescents inves-tigated self-esteem and depression, rather than hopelessness,as psychological predictors of suicidal ideation. The higherrates of severe suicidal ideation reported by females in thisresearch are consistent with other studies [3,23,25]. We foundno links between age or socioeconomic status and suicidalideation, as reported in other studies [3,11]. The associationbetween suicidal ideation and psychopathological correlateshas been well-established by a large body of researches[11,12,4,24]: in our research severe ideators presentedsignificantly higher scores on all SCL-90-R subscales

sb Nonideatorsc F23,697 Post hoc tests

D M SD

.62 0.80 0.58 223.62* 1> 2> 3

.61 1.11 0.64 267.93* 1> 2> 3

.13 0.98 0.67 327.17* 1> 2> 3

.68 0.88 0.61 536.21* 1> 2> 3

.58 0.82 0.60 382.94* 1> 2> 3

.84 1.11 0.86 170.65* 1> 2> 3

.21 0.47 0.27 366.97* 1> 2> 3

.65 1.24 0.74 579.79* 1> 2> 3

.61 0.69 0.35 259.51* 1> 2> 3

5 and 59 of SCL-90-R.

Table 3

Multiple discriminant function analysis based on perspective time dimensions

and psychosocial variables

Function Eigenvalue % of

Variance

Canonical

correlation

Wilks’

lambda

Chi-square df Sig.

1 0.349 98.78 0.51 0.74 1120.58 18 0.000

2 0.004 1.22 0.07 1.00 15.81 8 0.045

Note: The first function of discriminant function analysis, that best separated

severe ideators from nonideators, was mostly explained by psychopathological

symptoms, self-esteem and Negative Past and Fatalistic Present. Variables

concerning students’ time perspective such as Future and Hedonistic Present,

number of friends and mark’s average use appears to be most important for

function 2 that best separated moderate from severe ideators.

45F. Laghi et al. / European Psychiatry 24 (2009) 41e46

compared to moderate ideators and moderate ideators pre-sented significantly higher scores compared to nonideators.Although a great body of literature demonstrates linkagesbetween psychopathological symptoms and suicidal ideation,our findings appear, on the surface, to emphasize the impor-tance to differentiate severe from moderate ideators.

4.2. Suicidal ideation and time perspective

A discriminant function analysis determined time perspec-tive dimensions and psychological correlates along whichsevere, moderate and nonideators differ. The pattern of resultsreported across this study allows to conclude that timeperspective is a significant predictor of suicidal ideation and thusappears, from a socio-cognitive perspective, to be a salientdimension when analysing the psychosocial dynamic of suicide,particularly within adolescents. The first function of discrimi-nant function analysis, that best separated severe ideators fromnonideators, was mostly explained by psychopathologicalsymptoms, self-esteem and Negative Past and Fatalistic Present.Adolescents with severe suicidal ideation have a greater incli-nation to fatalism compared to nonideators and they tend toblame themselves for their failures and to deny their achieve-ments. A positive feature of past-oriented presented by non-ideators is either their sense of personal continuity and a stablesense of self all through the years; they had positive experiencesin the past and rejoiced in recalling them despite their presentunhappiness. Regarding past memories, the adolescents’ self-esteem is influenced by experiences with caregivers in earlychildhood. The quality of childhood memories has an importantimpact on the structuring of self-esteem related to internal

Table 4

Multiple discriminant function: structure matrix

Scale/variable Function 1 Function 2

Global severity index 0.96a 0.00

Past negative 0.43a �0.08

RSE total score �0.35a 0.18

Present fatalistic 0.31a 0.03

Present-hedonistic 0.00 0.70a

Future �0.14 0.65a

No. of friends 0.04 0.28a

Past Positive �0.16 0.24a

Average marks �0.15 0.21a

a Largest absolute correlation between each variable and any discriminant

function.

representations. At the same time, representations of self notonly reflect past experiences but may be considered asa changing reconstruction of what happened in the past, based oncurrent life circumstances and in connection with the affectivevicissitudes that are typical of the adolescent age. Adolescents,and more generally individuals, are likely to use their currentstate circumstances and beliefs as interpretive lens of pastexperiences. Research on the construction of adolescents’personal histories indicate that autobiographical memories arestrongly affected by the adolescents’ current circumstances andcurrent view of themselves [15].

Variables concerning students’ time perspective such asFuture and Hedonistic Present, number of friends and mark’saverage use appears to be most important for function 2 that,although explains only 1.22% of variance, best separatedmoderate from severe ideators. Adolescents with severe suicidalideation compared to moderate achieved significantly lowerscores on Future and Hedonistic Present. A future-orientedperson is someone whose decisions at any moment are largelyinfluenced by abstract mental representations of future conse-quences and concern for responsibility and losses. Moderateideators are future-oriented when compared to severe ideatorsand they are much able to resist the temptations of the immediatesetting that might distract them from their long-term aims. Theyare oriented towards hedonistic present and are self-indulgent,pleasure-seekers and shirk all routine works.

Regarding future expectations, thanks to his new abilities ofhypothetical deductive thinking, an adolescent can anticipatepossibilities and life scenarios that do not exist irrespective ofhis practical experience, so he can work out his intentions andfuture projects.

4.3. Limitation of the study

Although this study gives an important contribution to theliterature concerning the role of time perspective in suicidalideation, some limitations must be considered when drawingconclusions.

A limitation of this study is the use of self-report measuresthat are influenced by social desirability. As data were cross-sectional in nature, causal relationships between timeperspective and suicidal ideation cannot be inferred. However,this study also gives a contribution to the literature regardingfuture research involving time perspective and suicidal idea-tion in adolescence. Differences in time perspective dimen-sions between moderate and severe ideators suggest that theyshould be considered and analyzed as two discrete groups infuture research. Furthermore, knowledge on the developmentand stability of time perspective dimensions could alsocontribute to the creation of future prevention programs for at-risk adolescents.

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