Abstract The present study aimed to establish the associations between hopelessness, depression and impulsivity with respect to suicidal ideation and behavior, and to explore the role that impulsivity plays in the mechanism that operates between depression and hopelessness. Through an empirical observational study, with an analytical scope based on a cross-sectional design for a sample of 228 university students and using The Inventory of Suicide Orientation (ISO-30); Beck Depression Inventory (BDI); Beck Hopelessness Scale (BHS); and Barratt Impulsiveness Scale (BIS-11). The results indicated a significant positives correlations between BDI, BHS, BIS and ISO-30. Regression analysis showed that depression, impulsivity and hopelessness explain between 57% and 67% of the variance in the risk of suicidal ideation and behavior. Through the analysis of structural equation modeling, three models were established showing that impulsivity mediates the relationship between depressive symptomatology and suicidal ideation and behavior. This study has implications for mental health intervention and research, in that it emphasizes the importance of impulsivity traits as factors that act as triggers in the association between the presence of depressive symptoms and suicidal behavior.

Abstract: The objective was to establish of suicidal risk with emotional intelligence and self-esteem in a sample of 1414 university students of two Colombian cities from a quantitative study, with a non-experimental cross-sectional design. The Plutchik-RS Suicide Risk Scale, the adapted versions of the Trait Meta-Mood Scale (TMMS-24) and the Rosenberg-RAE Scale of Self-Esteem and an ad hoc Sociodemographic Record was used as instruments. The results show positive statistically significant correlations (p> 0.001) among suicidal risk, emotional attention and self-deprecation; and negative correlations (p> 0.001) among suicidal risk, emotional intelligence, emotional clarity, emotional regulation, self-esteem and self-confidence. We would like to highlight that emotional intelligence regarding clarity, regulation, self-esteem and self-confidence are protective factors of suicidal risk, and conversely, emotional attention and self-deprecation are risk factors for suicide.

Resumen: El objetivo fue establecer la relación del riesgo suicida con la inteligencia emocional y autoestima en una muestra de 1414 estudiantes universitarios de dos ciudades colombianas a partir de un estudio cuantitativo, con diseño no experimental de tipo transversal. Se usaron como instrumentos la Escala de Riesgo Suicida de Plutchik (RS), las versiones adaptadas de Trait Meta-Mood Scale (TMMS-24) y la Escala de Autoestima de Rosenberg (RAE), y una Ficha sociodemográfica ad hoc. Los resultados evidencian correlaciones estadísticamente significativas (p<.001) positivas entre riesgo suicida, atención emocional y autodesprecio; y negativas (p<.001) entre riesgo suicida, inteligencia emocional, claridad emocional, regulación emocional, autoestima y autoconfianza. Se indica que la inteligencia emocional respecto de la claridad, regulación, autoestima y autoconfianza son factores protectores del riesgo suicida, y, al contrario, la atención emocional y el autodesprecio son factores de riesgo para el suicidio.