Moderating Role of Self-esteem in the Relationship between Substance Use and Suicidal Ideation

Abstract

This study investigated the moderating role self-esteem in substance use as a predictor of suicidal ideation in a sample of Substance users in Amurri Nkanu West Local Government Area Enugu State Nigeria. Seventy-eight (78) male participants between the ages of 26 to 64 years (mean age = 34.94, Standard Deviation = 14.58)  were drawn from five communities in Amurri  using purposive sampling techniques. Three sets of tests used in sampling participants responses were: Index of Self-esteem (ISE) (Hudson, 1982), Beck Scale for Suicidal Ideation (BSS) (Beck et al., 1988) and Alcohol Smoking and Substance Involvement Screening Test (Version 3.0) (Humeniuk et al. 2006). The study adopted correlational design while moderated hierarchical regression analysis was used for data analysis. The results indicated that substance use positively predicted suicidal ideation t(3, 74) = 4.61, sig. = .001. However, only two dimensions of substance use yielded positive statistical significant predictions of suicidal ideation (tobacco:  β = .312, t(78) = 2.523, sig. = .014; alcohol: β = .355, t(78) = 3.691, sig. = .001). The result also revealed that self-esteem did not predict suicidal ideation t(3,74) = -1.06, sig. = .29. The result further indicated that self-esteem failed to moderate the prediction of suicidal ideation by substance use t(3,74) = .76, sig. = .45. Substance users especially those who use tobacco and alcohol are mostly likely to have suicidal thoughts.