Sharing suicidal thoughts in social networks: a multi-level perspective of disclosure among people with serious mental illness in India

Promoting disclosure about one’s suicidal thoughts is promising for risk management and recovery; however, almost nothing is known about it in India. In a sample of 25 adults with serious mental illness (Level 2) who nominated 333 social network members (Level 1), we adopted a multilevel perspective to assess patterns and correlates of disclosure. Most people had disclosed (72%; n = 18) or were intent on doing so (92%; n = 23). However, only 17% (n = 58) of network members were identified as prior confidants and 20% (n = 64) as intended confidants. Multilevel modeling results showed that relational factors and not individual factors were linked to disclosure intent. Network members who were prior confidants, emotionally close, and sources of social support were appealing as future confidants. This highlights the potential utility of network-based safety planning wherein these discerning attributes are used to efficiently recruit would-be confidants for training.