Abstract
BACKGROUND: Suicide is a serious global public health problem, and suicidal ideation is a significant predictor of and risk factor for suicide deaths. Previous studies have confirmed the relationships among suicidal ideation, the meaning of life and coping styles using latent variables but have overlooked the heterogeneity of symptoms. OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to explore the fine-grained relationships among these three factors based on network analysis to provide a theoretical basis to identify potential psychological interventions for suicidal ideation. METHODS: These factors were investigated by administering the Chinese Meaning of life Questionnaire (C-MLQ), the Simple Coping Styles Questionnaire (SCSQ), and the Suicidal Ideation Self-Assessment Scale (SIOSS) to 800 self-reported healthy adults. Analyses of network structure and bridge expected influence (BEI) were conducted with R4.1.1 software. RESULTS: The network showed a total of 18 edges for the meaning of life, coping styles, and suicidal ideation communities. Of these, S1, "pessimism", had the greatest negative BEI value (-0.25) in the suicidal ideation community; M1, "perception of meaning of life", had the greatest negative BEI value (-0.42) in the meaning of life and coping styles communities; and C2, "negative coping", had the greatest positive BEI value (0.31). CONCLUSIONS: Complex pathways exist among meaning of life, coping styles and suicidal ideation. Negative coping is the strongest risk factor for suicidal ideation, the perception of the meaning of life is the strongest protective factor for suicidal ideation, and pessimism is a potential target for suicide prevention interventions.