Interparental Conflict Relative to Suicidal Ideation in Chinese Adolescents: The Roles of Coping Strategies and Meaning in Life

Negative coping style mediates the relationship between negative mental and suicide risk among migrant workers in China

Suicide is increasingly recognized as a major public health concern among migrant workers in China. Despite negative mental and negative coping styles being core themes found in suicide notes, there is scarce research addressing the theoretical framework of underlying mechanisms between these variables. The study was designed to examine the relationships of negative mental, negative coping styles, and suicide risk among migrant workers. It hypothesized that negative mental would exert a positive effect on suicide risk via increased negative coping. Using a cross-sectional design, the study was conducted using a sample of 3095 migrant workers from Shenzhen, China. Self-made Suicide Risk Scale (SRS), Short-form of the ULCA Loneliness Scale (USL-6), Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), Generalized Anxiety Scale (GAD-7), Simplified Coping Style Questionnaire (SCSQ) were used to collect data. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was performed to quantitatively explore the path effects between negative mental, negative coping styles and suicide risk. Results showed that negative coping style had a positive association with suicide risk (β = 0.029, P < 0.001). Negative mental had both direct and indirect positive effects on suicide risk through negative coping styles (β = 0.109, β = 0.013, P < 0.001). Therefore, to prevent suicidal behaviors among migrant workers, targeted interventions focusing on improving their mental health and coping strategies are needed.

"It was like nobody cared about what I said?" Iranian women committed self-immolation: a qualitative study

BACKGROUND

Suicide-attempts have increased across the world and have become higher among females. There has been a high prevalence of self-immolation in Iran, mostly young married women admitted to the burn centers. This study aimed to explore the factors and experiences of self-immolation in Iranian married women to develop prevention strategies to prevent the personal, social, and economic impacts of suicide and suicide attempts.

METHODS

A qualitative descriptive approach using open-ended, in-depth, face-to-face interviews was conducted in a purposive sample of 16 married Iranian women aged 16-40 years in the burn centers in Urmia city, a place in northwest Iran. Conventional content analysis was used to analyze the data.

RESULTS

Three themes emerged from the data, including (1) antecedents of self-immolation, (2) suicidal ideation method, and (3) pathway to recovery. Each of these themes is supported by sub-themes.

CONCLUSIONS

The study highlights the demand for health professionals to support self-immolation survivors to continue their normal lives. According to survivors' needs, a comprehensive supportive program is recommended to support their pathways to recovery in all its complexities. Health professionals should also not forget that the survivors' family also will need help to overcome this trauma. A family counseling program may also be provided.

Interparental Conflict and Delinquency Among Chinese Adolescents: Parental Knowledge as a Mediator and Deviant Peer Affiliation as a Moderator

Interparental conflict has been found to positively affect adolescent delinquency; however, the underlying mechanism that explains this association remains unclear. This study investigated whether parental knowledge mediates the association between interparental conflict and adolescent delinquency, and whether this mediating process is moderated by deviant peer affiliation. To examine this, a total of 3,129 Chinese adolescents (47.27% boys, Mean_age = 14.94 years) completed a survey. Structural equation modeling indicated that the positive association between interparental conflict and adolescent delinquency is mediated by parental knowledge. Moreover, for adolescents with high deviant peer affiliation, interparental conflict was found to positively predict delinquency via parental knowledge; however, this indirect link was non-significant for adolescents with low deviant peer affiliation. These findings highlight the influence of parental knowledge and deviant peer affiliation on the association between interparental conflict and adolescent delinquency. This can provide guidance for the development of effective interventions that address the adverse effects of interparental conflict.

Psychological factors of vulnerability to suicide ideation: Attachment styles, coping strategies, and dysfunctional attitudes

BACKGROUND

Suicide ideation is one of the common mental health problems among university students. This study aimed to explain suicide ideation susceptibility by examining the relationships between psychological factors.

METHODOLOGY

The population of the study included all female undergraduate students at the University of Isfahan in autumn 2018. A sample of 180 individuals were selected through multistage sampling from different faculties and majors. The scales used in this study included adults attachments inventory, Coping Inventory for Stressful Situation, Dysfunctional Attitudes Scale, and Suicide Ideation Scale. The statistical analyses included t-test, Pearson correlation, and path analysis.

RESULTS

Suicide ideation was reported in 25% of the participants. The t-test analysis indicated that the mean scores for dysfunctional attitudes (P < 0.01) and problem-focused coping (P < 0.01) were significantly different in with and without suicide ideation groups. Suicide ideation significantly correlated with problem-focused coping (r = -0.42, P < 0.01), emotion-focused coping (r = 0.25, P < 0.05), and dysfunctional attitudes (r = 0.23, P < 0.05). Path analysis showed that dysfunctional attitudes and emotion-focused coping significantly influenced suicide ideation. Moreover, the indirect effect of insecure (ambivalent and avoidant) attachment styles by mediating role of dysfunctional attitudes and emotion-focused coping was statistically significant (P < 0.01) and the indirect effect of dysfunctional attitudes by mediating role of emotion-focused coping as well (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSION

Insecure attachment styles and dysfunctional attitudes work as stress-diathesis model in predicting suicide ideation and increase suicide ideation susceptibility by affecting emotion-focused coping strategy. The hypothesized model in this study can help formulate, evaluate, and prevent suicide risk.

Meaning in life among adolescents: Factorial invariance of the purpose in life test and buffering effect on the relationship between emotional dysregulation and hopelessness

OBJECTIVE

The purpose of the present study was threefold: first, to analyse the psychometric properties of a 10-item Spanish version of the Purpose in Life Test, which assesses meaning in life (MiL), in a sample of community adolescents; second, to analyse the differences between the age and gender groups; and third, to analyse whether MiL buffers the relationship between emotional dysregulation and hopelessness.

METHOD

Participants were 1,599 adolescents from 12 to 19 years old, M = 15.69, SD = 2.14. The Purpose in Life Test-10 Items, the Beck Hopelessness Scale, and the Difficulties in Emotional Regulation Scale were used.

RESULTS

A nine-item version showed good fit, psychometric properties (internal consistency, construct, and concurrent validity), and factorial invariance across gender and age (12-15 years/16-19 years). Difference in MiL between boys and girls was not significant, whereas between age groups was significant. MiL had a strong buffering effect on the relationship between emotional dysregulation and hopelessness.

DISCUSSION

It is desirable to promote the sense of MiL in adolescents. MiL plays a significant and strong mediator role in the relationship between emotional dysregulation and hopelessness, reinforcing the positive role of MiL in mental health and as a resource for facing adversity.

The Characteristics of Chinese Adolescents With Suicidal Ideation: A Mixed-Methods Approach

We conducted a mixed-methods study to explore the characteristics of Chinese adolescents with suicidal ideation, using both quantitative and qualitative data and analysis. Participants were N = 244 adolescents, who completed self-report assessments of suicidal ideation, as well as indices of psychological functioning and well-being. A subset of n = 6 high and n = 6 low suicidal ideation adolescents participated in the follow-up interviews. Among the quantitative results, as compared with adolescents with low suicidal ideation, adolescents with high suicidal ideation reported significantly higher scores for stressful life events, coping-avoidant strategies, loneliness, and depression, as well as significantly lower scores for coping-approach strategies. Among the qualitative results, adolescents with high suicidal ideation demonstrated the following characteristics: (a) most troubled by academic pressures and relations, (b) negative self-evaluations, (c) maladaptive understanding of life and death, (d) individual-oriented attributions, and (e) negative coping strategies and self-fulfilling prophesy. These findings contribute to the early identification of adolescents who are at higher risk for suicide, further expand the stress and coping model with the distress-to-meaninglessness framework, and suggest that improving positive self-evaluation may be a focus of prevention and intervention.