Suicide ideation and LGBTQ+ felt sense of belongingness and internalized shame: An investigation through the lens of the integrated motivational volitional model of suicide in LGBTQ+ adults in the U.S. and the U.K.

Introduction: LGBTQ+ populations experience elevated suicide risk, yet the psychosocial mechanisms contributing to this disparity remain understudied. Drawing on the Integrated Motivational-Volitional (IMV) Model of Suicide and stigma-based health disparities frameworks, we tested whether defeat relates to suicidal ideation (SI) indirectly through internal and external entrapment, and whether LGBTQ+-related shame and belongingness moderate these pathways. Methods: LGBTQ+ adults from the United Kingdom (N = 302; 76% female, 69% cisgender) and the United States (N = 469; 62% female, 75% cisgender) completed an online cross-sectional survey. Results: In the U.K. sample, defeat was indirectly associated with SI through both internal and external entrapment, consistent with IMV predictions. In the U.S. sample, defeat predicted SI via internal, but not external, entrapment, and LGBTQ+ shame moderated the defeat to internal entrapment association. Discussion: These findings highlight entrapment as a key psychological mechanism linking minority stress to suicidal ideation in LGBTQ+ adults and suggest potential cross-national variability in how shame processes contribute to suicide risk. Implications for theory refinement and clinical assessment of entrapment in stigmatized populations are discussed.