Inflexibilidad psicológica, depresión y ansiedad: una explicación contextual de la ideación suicida en universitarios

The objective was to determine the influence of psychological inflexibility, anxiety, and depression on suicidal ideation among university students in the Faculty of Health Sciences at a university in Huancayo, thereby validating the contextual model of human suffering. The study employed a non-experimental, explanatory, and cross-sectional methodology with latent variables, using the covariance-based SEM technique for data processing. The non-probabilistic criterion sample consisted of 1,030 students. The instruments applied included the Acceptance and Action Questionnaire (AAQ-II), the Lima Anxiety Scale (EAL-20), the Depressive Psychopathology Scale (EPD-6), and the Suicidal Ideation Frequency Inventory (IFIS). The findings showed that Model 1, in which no questionnaire items were removed, exhibited an adequate fit; however, Model 2, which conceptualized psychological inflexibility as a unidimensional structure with seven items and correlated measurement errors (items 2 and 5), demonstrated a better and more parsimonious fit (CFI = .939, TLI = .934, RMSEA [90% CI] = .037 [.034-.039], SRMR = .041). The results indicate that psychological inflexibility has a direct influence on anxiety (β = .647) and depression (β = .646), while these correlated variables (r = .473) influence suicidal ideation (βA = .190, βD = .509, r² = .429, f2 = .751). These findings suggest that psychological inflexibility acts as a factor that increases human suffering (anxiety and depression), which in turn heightens suicidal ideation, highlighting the need for interventions targeting these variables to mitigate suicide risk..