COVID-related stress, risk for suicidal behavior, and protective factors in a national sample of college students.

This study's purpose was to determine if COVID-related stress predicted suicide risk among college students and if this risk was attenuated by higher levels of social and psychological resources. The sample included 65,142 college students who participated in the National College Health Assessment survey in Spring 2021. SPSS PROCESS was used to test the association between COVID-related stress and suicide risk while controlling for demographic covariates and to determine the potential stress-buffering roles of social connectedness, resiliency, and psychological well-being. Higher levels of COVID-related stress predicted increased suicide risk yet this risk was attenuated when social connectedness, resiliency, and psychological flourishing were greater. Findings indicate that efforts to increase social connectedness, resiliency, and psychological flourishing could help reduce the risk of college students' suicidality under conditions of high COVID-related stress.