Romantic Relationship Quality and Suicidal Ideation in Young Adulthood

Abstract

Sociological research on suicidal ideation has often focused on structural factors, such as marital status, when analyzing the protective effects of social integration; however, less is known about how the quality of romantic relationships shapes suicidality among young adults. This study uses the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health to examine the association between romantic relationship quality and suicidal ideation in young adulthood. Results indicate that simply being in a romantic relationship is unrelated to suicidal ideation. In fact, odds of reporting suicidal ideation are comparable for respondents who are married or cohabiting and respondents who are single or dating. Findings show that respondents who report greater romantic relationship quality in any romantic relation type are less likely to report suicidal ideation. This study contributes to previous research in the sociology of mental health by extending our understanding of the protective role of relationship quality.