Abstract
Objectives
Suicidal ideation (SI) nearly always precedes lethal suicide attempts. Anger may play a role in SI, but this appears to vary by gender and nuances in this relationship are unclear.
Method
We investigated whether levels of (a) anger and (b) SI vary by gender, (c) the cross-sectional relationship between anger and SI, and (d) if gender moderates that relationship in two samples: adults seeking care for excessive anger (Study 1) and undergraduates endorsing previous suicide attempt (Study 2).
Results
In Study 1, anger was more commonly endorsed in women; however, in Study 2, anger did not vary by gender. In both studies, SI did not vary by gender. Further, in both studies, anger and SI were positively related. The relationship between anger and SI did not vary by gender in either study.
Conclusions
The strength of the relationship between anger and SI did not vary by gender.