Volume 29, Issue 3 (Autumn 2023)                   IJPCP 2023, 29(3): 288-303 | Back to browse issues page


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Fathi A, Sadeghi S, Sharifi Rahnemo S. A Structural Equation Modeling of the Relationship of Organizational and Socio-Economic Factors With Tendency to Suicide in Iranian Conscripts: The Mediating Role of Family Emotional Climate. IJPCP 2023; 29 (3) :288-303
URL: http://ijpcp.iums.ac.ir/article-1-3952-en.html
1- Research Center for Cognitive &Behavioral Sciences in Police, Directorate of Health, Rescue &Treatment, Police Headquarter, Tehran, Iran.
2- Department of Psychology, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, Charkh Niloufari Institute of Higher Education, Tabriz, Iran. , soli.sdgh@gmail.com
3- Department of Educational Sciences, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, Bu-Ali Sina University, Hamadan, Iran.
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Introduction
Suicide is a serious threat to public health, and it has become an increasing concern among soldiers in recent years [3، 4]. It is the second cause of death among US military forces and one of the main causes of death in Russian military forces [7]. In Iran, the suicide rate has increased to 9.9 in 100000 people in two recent decades [8]. The cause of suicide is not limited to one factor; many factors can create a tendency in the individual towards suicide, including organizational factors. The success of commanders in proper interaction with conscripts greatly depends on their leadership abilities [9]. Another effective factor is low economic-social status of soldiers [11، 12]. Stack [11] and Argungu et al. [12] showed that low income level is significantly related to suicide rate. Suicide is not an instant decision. Most of those who commit suicide or have suicide ideation suffer from unsafe home environments [18]. Such environment that is not suitable for the child’s growth and development can cause social deviations of the child in the future [19]. Levi-Belz et.al. indicated the role of family and personal charactersitics and psychological factors in the suicide of soldiers [20]. In suicide studies, attention should be paid to the personal life of individuals as well as their career life instead of suicide rates. Accordingly, this study aims to assess the role of organizational and socio-economic factors in the tendency to suicide among soldiers by considering the mediating role of family emotional climate.
Method
 This is a descriptive-correlational study. The study population consists of all conscripts of Islamic Republic of Iran Police Force in 2021-2022. Sampling was done using multi-stages cluster random sampling method and the sample size was determined 1000 using Cochran formula. The tendency to suicide scale of Joiner et al, the family emotional climate scale of Hilburn (1964), and two researcher-made questionnaires of organizational factors and socio-economic factors scales were used to gather data. Data was analyzed using the structural equation modeling (SEM). 




Results 
Results showed that the proposed SEM model had acceptable fit. The effect of organizational factors on suicide was significant (P=0.038, β=-0.252) with a mediating role of family emotional climate. Further, socio-economic factors significantly affected the tendency to suicide with mediating role of family emotional climate (P=0.002, β=-0.267). The organizational and socio-economic factors and family emotional climate together could explain 32.6 % of variance in tendency to suicide, while organizational and socio-economic factors could explain 23.1 % of variance in family emotional climate.  

Conclusion
According to the results, family emotional climate play a significant role on the relationship of organizational and socio-economic factors with tendency to suicide among Iranian conscripts. Consistently, Harmon et al. showed that the lack of suitable social relations plays a significant and mediating role between exposure to military incidents and destructive behaviors in soldiers [28]. Hashemi & Ahmadi suggested that the communication skills of commanders can play a considerable role in improving the interaction with conscripts [30]. The study by Amiri & Basami confirmed the significant relationship of suicide with poor family climate and poor economic status in soldiers [5]. Mental health problems and lack of emotional support from family before military conscription period can cause irreparable damage, like suicide. Xu et.al. showed that young people who have better relationships with their family or with others had less risky behaviors including aggression and self-harm [32]. Accordingly, it is necessary for conscripts to be in proper mental conditions to have optimal performance. During military conscription, the young soldiers face with a new environment and conditions [34]. If these conditions be accompanied with organizational stressors, the distress caused by feelings of inferiority and lack of emotional discharge can lead to self-harm behaviors. Regarding the effect of socio-economic problems on tendency to suicide, our results are consistent with the results of Qian et al. [36]. 

Ethical Considerations

Compliance with ethical guidelines

Prior to the study, explanations about the study objectives and methods were provided to the participants and their informed consent was obtained. Their information were kept confidential. This study was approved by the ethics committee of Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences (Code: IR.SBMU.TEB.POLICE. REC.1402.012)

Funding
This research was funded by the Police Trauma Research Center, NAJA Deputy for Health, Relief, and Treatment.

Authors contributions
The authors contributed equally to preparing this article. 

Conflicts of interest
The authors declared no conflict of interest.

Acknowledgments
The authors would like to thank to the the Police Trauma Research Center of the NAJA Deputy for Health, Relief, and Treatment for their financial support  and all participants for their coperation in this research.
 
 
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Type of Study: Original Research | Subject: Psychiatry and Psychology
Received: 2023/07/13 | Accepted: 2023/09/30 | Published: 2023/10/1

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