Suicide risk is increased in eating disorders (ED), and detection is key to prevention. Self-image as operationalized in the structural analysis of social behavior (SASB) model has been shown to be associated with symptoms, treatment dropout, and outcome. SASB is a circumplex organizing self-directed behaviors along affiliation (love vs. hate) and autonomy (set free vs. control) dimensions. In a recent study, SASB related to health care-detected suicide attempts in ED. Methodology in that study ensured high specificity but risked lower sensitivity in suicide variables, and with such a high-threat outcome, research is needed on additional variables related to risk.

We aimed to study associations between SASB self-image and clinician- and self-rated suicidality at presentation and predicted over 12 months in ED patients.

Adult patients (n = 551) from a Swedish clinical database included 19% anorexia, 32% bulimia, 7% binge ED, and 42% other ED. We ran separate regression models for these diagnostic groups using SASB questionnaire data, also controlling for general psychiatric and ED symptoms, and in longitudinal models including baseline of each outcome.

SASB alone was associated with suicidality at presentation (9–67% variance explained) and predictively over 12 months (7–29%), and in the majority of models explained additional variance beyond baseline and clinical variables. Both affiliation and autonomy related to dependent variables in diagnosis-specific patterns.

The findings have implications for both theory and detection tools for suicide risk, as well as suggesting intervention targets to mitigate risk in treatment based on the well-validated SASB theory.

The authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.