Childhood trauma and suicidal ideation among Chinese university students: the mediating effect of Internet addiction and school bullying victimisation

Abstract

Aims The factors associated with suicidal ideation among adolescents have been extensively characterised, but the mechanisms underlying the complexities of the relationship between experiences of childhood trauma and suicidal ideation have been less studied. This study examined the direct effect of childhood trauma on suicidal ideation on the one hand and whether school bullying victimisation and Internet addiction mediate the association between childhood trauma and suicidal ideation on the other hand. Methods This school-based mental health survey was carried out in Qinghai Province in Northwest China in December 2019. We employed standardised questionnaires to collect sociodemographic and target mental health outcomes. Hierarchical multiple logistic regression and structural equation modelling were performed for the data analyses. Results This study included 5864 university students. The prevalence of lifetime suicidal ideation and Internet addiction were 34.7% and 21.4%, respectively. Overall, 16.4% and 11.4% of participants reported experiences of childhood trauma and school bullying victimisation, respectively. There were direct effects of childhood trauma, school bullying victimisation and Internet addiction on suicidal ideation. The total effect of childhood trauma on suicidal ideation was 0.201 (p < 0.001). School bullying victimisation and Internet addiction mediated the relationship between childhood trauma and suicidal ideation. Internet addiction played a mediating role between school bullying and suicidal ideation. Conclusions Childhood trauma had both direct and indirect effects on suicidal ideation; these effects were mediated by school bullying victimisation and Internet addiction in Chinese university students. Elucidating these relationships will therefore be useful in developing and implementing more targeted interventions and strategies to improve the mental well-being of Chinese university students.

The Mediating Roles of Emotional Regulation on Negative Emotion and Internet Addiction Among Chinese Adolescents From a Development Perspective

“…Physical and psychological characteristics show that adolescents have relatively poor self-control and immature psychology and behavior. Adolescents may be prone to internet addiction (IA), which can affect their physical (1) and mental health (2) and academic performance (3), even generating suicidal ideation (4). Internet addiction is characterized by psychological dependence, tolerance, and withdrawal symptoms and is included in the "Internet Addiction" chapter of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-V; American Psychiatric Association, 2013) (5).…”

Mediation of Internet addiction on association between childhood maltreatment and suicidal behaviours among Chinese adolescents

“…Furthermore, a growing number of studies have provided evidence to support that maltreated adolescents were more likely to have IA than those who have no history of CM (Hsieh et al ., 2016 ; Lo et al ., 2021 ). To sum up, although previous studies have demonstrated the association between CM and IA, IA and suicidal behaviours, as well as CM and suicidal behaviours, few studies have revealed the relationship among three of them (Falgares et al ., 2018 ; Lu et al ., 2020 ). To our knowledge, there is only one study exploring the mediating role of IA on the association between childhood trauma and SI in Chinese population.…”

“…To our knowledge, there is only one study exploring the mediating role of IA on the association between childhood trauma and SI in Chinese population. Unfortunately, the study failed to reveal the correlation between different types of CM and three stages of suicidal behaviours (Lu et al ., 2020 ). Hence, it has great significance to examine further the underlying mediation of IA on the relation between CM and suicidal behaviours.…”

“…The secondary objective is to explore the mediating role of IA in the relationship between CM and suicidal behaviours using structural equation modelling. We hypothesised that neglect and physical abuse would indirectly related to suicidal behaviours via IA (Lu et al ., 2020 ).…”

Mental Strength and Challenges among Thai Medical Students in Their Clinical Years—Study Protocol

“…More importantly, we are curious to determine whether early traumatic experiences would be related to students’ mental health difficulties and well-being. One study showed the direct relationship between childhood trauma and school bullying victimization [ 56 ]. However, evidence on the correlation between childhood trauma and mistreatment, regardless of being a person who is mistreated or who mistreats, is scarce.…”