Perceived stress from interpersonal relations predicts suicidal ideation in Chinese university students: Roles of meaning in life and coping humor

Abstract

Existing studies emphasize that interpersonal relationships are closely associated with the increased risk of suicidal ideation (SI). However, the mechanism underlying this association remains poorly understood. In this study, we investigated how and under what conditions the perceived stress from interpersonal relations links to SI. Also we explored the possible important roles of meaning in life and coping humor. A total of 1472 Chinese freshmen completed self-reported questionnaires of thwarted belongingness (TB), fear of negative evaluation (FNE), meaning in life, coping humor, and SI. Our results showed that SI was associated with more TB and FNE, and it was linked to less meaning in life and coping humor. Importantly, two dimensions of meaning in life mediated the associations between TB, FNE, and SI. Specifically, TB increased SI by destroying both presence of meaning and search for meaning while FNE increased SI by destroying presence of meaning, but not by search for meaning. Additionally, coping humor attenuated the effect of FNE on SI. Our findings highlight the protective roles of meaning in life and coping humor in the link between perceived stress from interpersonal relations and SI among Chinese university students. These results provide feasible advices for practitioners to carry out suicide prevention and intervention.