Suicidal Ideation in a Group of Italian Love Addicts: A Qualitative Research

Love addiction is a debated concept, generally considered as an addiction toward an object of love and can lead to deeply negative consequences, among which are self-harm and suicidal ideation. Our study aims to provide empirical evidences about love addiction etiology and characteristics, and to analyze its relation to suicidality. Our result confirmed the phenomenological depiction of love addiction that so far has mainly been hypothesized in literature, also providing a deeper understanding of its characteristics. An association with suicidal and parasuicidal behaviors has been observed, highlighting the dramatic consequences love addiction can have and the importance of preventing them.