Tan Dat Nguyen, Mitsui Nobuyuki, Asakura Satoshi, Fujii Yutaka, Toyoshima Kuniyoshi, Kusumi Ichiro
Department of Psychiatry, Hokkaido University Graduate School of Medicine, Sapporo, Japan.
Health Care Center of Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan.
Front Psychiatry. 2023 Sep 7;14:1240715. doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1240715. eCollection 2023.
Several studies have highlighted the impact of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic on suicide. Accordingly, investigating the risk factors of suicide during this crisis is important. Based on the escape theory of suicide, the current study examined the serial mediating roles of psychological distress and hopelessness in the relationship between self-esteem and suicidal ideation. It also aimed to explore whether or not the COVID-19 pandemic changed the mediation effect in any way.
Data were collected from 645 university students before and during the pandemic. The study employed mediation and multi-group analyses to test the hypotheses.
The results demonstrated that individuals with low self-esteem reported high psychological distress, which further lead to hopelessness and eventually heightened suicidal ideation. Multi-group analysis revealed that psychological distress exerted a greater impact on suicidal ideation during COVID-19.
The finding suggested that self-esteem, hopelessness, and psychological distress could help elucidate the development of suicidal ideation. Clinicians may target these factors in suicide prevention programs, particularly in the settings of the COVID-19 pandemic or future crisis.
多项研究强调了新型冠状病毒肺炎（COVID-19）大流行对自杀行为的影响。因此，调查此次危机期间的自杀风险因素很重要。基于自杀的逃避理论，本研究检验了心理困扰和绝望感在自尊与自杀意念关系中的系列中介作用。研究还旨在探讨COVID-19大流行是否以任何方式改变了中介效应。
在大流行之前和期间收集了645名大学生的数据。本研究采用中介分析和多组分析来检验假设。
结果表明，自尊水平低的个体报告有较高的心理困扰，这进而导致绝望感，并最终加剧自杀意念。多组分析显示，在COVID-19期间，心理困扰对自杀意念的影响更大。
研究结果表明，自尊、绝望感和心理困扰有助于阐明自杀意念的发展过程。临床医生在自杀预防项目中可能会针对这些因素，特别是在COVID-19大流行或未来危机的背景下。
