The Relationship Between Social Comparisons and Suicidal Ideation in Older Adults: The Mediating Role of Decision-Making Styles

One of the most important crises in the world seems to be suicide and its consequences. It seems that suicide, especially with increasing age, has an upward trend and has greatly increased in older population. Therefore, the present study was to investigate the relationship between social comparisons and suicidal thoughts with the mediating role of decision-making styles in older adults. This was a correlational study, of structural equation modeling (SEM) type. The statistical population included older adults over 65 years old living in Shiraz, Iran, among whom 265 were selected using convenience sampling method and according to the inclusion criteria. Participants filled out Beck scale for suicidal ideation (BSS), Scott and Bruce’s decision-making styles questionnaire, and Gibbons and Buunk’s social comparison questionnaire. The collected information was analyzed using SEM in SPSS-26 and Lisrel-8.8 software. The results of the present study indicate that the hypothesized model demonstrates a good fit. Furthermore, the findings suggest that social comparison is related to suicidal ideation through the mediating role of decision-making styles. Specifically, logical and intuitive decision-making styles were significantly and negatively associated with suicidal ideation, while the avoidant, dependent, and immediate decision-making styles were positively and significantly related to suicidal ideation. Based on the findings of this research, psychologists and experts are advised to address suicide ideation as a global and escalating issue by assisting individuals in shifting their focus towards the positive aspects of their lives and refraining from making superficial comparisons. Furthermore, reducing suicide ideation can be achieved by imparting decision-making skills to older adults.