An Examination of the Motivational Phase of the IMV Model Among Emerging Adults in Türkiye: The Roles of Self-Critical Rumination and Social Ostracism

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study is to examine the relationships between defeat, entrapment, and suicidal ideation among emerging adults (operationally defined as ages 18-26) within the framework of the Motivational Phase of the Integrated Motivation-Volitional (IMV) Model and to test the moderating roles of self-critical rumination and social ostracism and its forms (ignored and excluded) in these relationships. METHOD: The study used a cross-sectional design with self-report data from 503 emerging adults in Türkiye. Mediation and moderating analyses were conducted using IBM SPSS 22 (PROCESS macro). RESULTS: In the association between defeat and suicidal ideation, entrapment functioned as a partial mediator. In the association between defeat and entrapment, self-critical rumination functioned as a buffering moderator. In the association between entrapment and suicidal ideation, being ignored functioned as a reinforcing moderator, whereas excluded and social ostracism did not moderate this association. CONCLUSIONS: The motivational stage of the IMV Model is empirically validated in the emerging adult sample in Türkiye and provides a functional framework for explaining the process leading to suicidal ideation. The study adds an additional cognitive layer to the model through self-critical rumination, revealing the dynamics of the defeat-entrapment relationship in a more nuanced way. Furthermore, by examining social ostracism and its forms (ignored and excluded), it makes an important contribution to how social threats and relational vulnerabilities intersect with the motivational processes conceptualized in the model.