The Relationship Between Childhood Abuse and Suicidal Ideation Among College Freshmen: The Chain Mediating Role of Stressful Life Events and Rumination

ZHANG Ziyu; GUO Yushuang; AN Li

doi:10.12100/j.issn.2096-5494.226006

2026 , Vol. 9 >Issue 1: 27 - 33

DOI: https://doi.org/10.12100/j.issn.2096-5494.226006

ORIGINAL ARTICLES

The Relationship Between Childhood Abuse and Suicidal Ideation Among College Freshmen: The Chain Mediating Role of Stressful Life Events and Rumination

ZHANG Ziyu ,
GUO Yushuang ,
AN Li

Expand

¹School of Education, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300354, China;
²Institute of Applied Psychology, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300354, China;
³Laboratory of Suicidology, Tianjin Municipal Education Commission,Tianjin 300354,China

^*AN Li, anli_mhc@tju.edu.cn

Online published: 2026-10-23

Fold

Abstract

Objective: To explore the chain mediating role of stressful life events and rumination in the relationship between childhood maltreatment and suicidal ideation among college freshmen.
Methods: This study selected 908 freshmen from a university in Tianjin as research subjects, and questionnaires were distributed online. Data collection was conducted at two time points with a three-month interval. We measured the levels of childhood abuse at the first time point and stressful life events, rumination, and suicidal ideation at the second time point. The Chinese version of the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ), the Adolescent Self-rating Life Events Checklist (ASLEC), the Chinese version of the Rumination Response Scale (RRS), and the Positive and Negative Suicide Ideation Inventory (PANSI) were used to assess childhood maltreatment, stressful life events, rumination, and suicidal ideation, respectively.
Results: Childhood maltreatment positively predicted suicidal ideation, with an effect value of 0.253 (95% CI: 0.211 to 0.295). Stressful life events had a partial mediating role between childhood maltreatment and suicidal ideation, with an effect value of 0.025 (95% CI:0.013 to 0.040). Rumination also played a partial mediating role between childhood maltreatment and suicidal ideation, with an effect value of 0.049 (95% CI: 0.032 to 0.068). Stressful life events and rumination jointly played a chain mediating role between childhood maltreatment and suicidal ideation, with an effect value of 0.018 (95% CI: 0.012 to 0.025). After controlling for gender and age, stressful life events and rumination showed significant chain mediating effects between the five dimensions of childhood maltreatment and suicidal ideation.
Conclusion: In the positive correlation between childhood maltreatment and suicidal ideation among freshmen, stressful life events and rumination played a partial mediating role respectively, and play a chain mediating role together.

Key words： childhood maltreatment; stressful life event; rumination; suicidal ideation; college freshman

Cite this article

ZHANG Ziyu , GUO Yushuang , AN Li . The Relationship Between Childhood Abuse and Suicidal Ideation Among College Freshmen: The Chain Mediating Role of Stressful Life Events and Rumination[J]. Psychological Communications, 2026 , 9(1) : 27 -33 . DOI: 10.12100/j.issn.2096-5494.226006

References

[1] 韩秀, 杨宏飞. (2009). Nolen-Hoeksema反刍思维量表在中国的试用. 中国临床心理学杂志, 17(5), 550-551, 549.
[2] 刘佳楠, 杜洋, 谢思思, 杨静月, 徐康健, 季益富. (2024). 青少年自杀意念的现状及其影响因素.神经损伤与功能重建, 19(6), 331-334. doi:10.16780/j.cnki.sjssgncj.20230852
[3] 刘贤臣, 刘连启, 杨杰, 柴福勋, 王爱祯, 孙良民,.. 马登岱. (1997). 青少年生活事件量表的信度效度检验.中国临床心理学杂志, (1), 39-41. doi:10.16128/j.cnki.1005-3611.1997.01.011
[4] 佟丽芳, 姜永志. (2023). 成年初显期人际敏感对抑郁的影响:社交焦虑和反刍的链式中介作用.中国健康心理学杂志, 31(10), 1564-1569. doi:10.13342/j.cnki.cjhp.2023.10.024
[5] 王学志, 宫火良, 康晓然, 刘雯雯, 董晓静, 马彦锋. (2011). 青少年自杀意念量表中文版在高中生应用的信效度分析.中国健康心理学杂志, 19(8), 964-966. doi:10.13342/j.cnki.cjhp.2011.08.014
[6] 王中杰, 彭英, 何静可, 王学振, 刘翠静, 郑娟娟. (2024). 童年期性虐待与大学生自我攻击的关系:有调节的中介效应.中国性科学, 33(8), 156-160. doi:10.3969/j.issn.1672-1993.2024.08.037
[7] 俞国良, 黄潇潇. (2023). 学生心理健康问题检出率比较:元分析的证据.教育研究, 44(6), 105-121.
[8] 赵幸福, 张亚林, 李龙飞, 周云飞, 李鹤展, 杨世昌. (2005). 中文版儿童期虐待问卷的信度和效度.中国临床康复, (20), 105-107. doi:10.11847/zgggws-2011-27-05-71
[9] 周惠玉, 丁艳孜, 梁圆圆, 雷一茗, 孔风. (2026). 负性生活事件对大学生自杀意念的影响:反刍思维和宽恕的中介作用.信阳师范大学学报(哲学社会科学版), 46(2), 1-8.
[10] Chaiyachati, B. H., & Gur, R. E. (2021). Effect of child abuse and neglect on schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders.Pharmacol Biochem Behav, 206, 173195. doi:10.1016/j.pbb.2021.173195
[11] Chang H., Yao Z., Zhang Y., Chen J., & Shi P. (2022). The relationship between abuse and neglect and adolescent suicidality:A moderated mediation model.Front Psychol, 13, 1019878. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2022.1019878
[12] Duprey E. B., Handley E. D., Manly J. T., Cicchetti D., & Toth S. L. (2021). Child maltreatment, recent stressful life events, and suicide ideation:A test of the stress sensitivity hypothesis.Child Abuse Negl, 113, 104926. doi:10.1016/j.chiabu.2020.104926
[13] Klonsky E. D., Saffer B. Y., & Bryan C. J. (2018). Ideation-to-action theories of suicide:A conceptual and empirical update.Curr Opin Psychol, 22, 38-43. doi:10.1016/j.copsyc.2017.07.020
[14] Kuhar M., Dorrance-hall E., & Prosen S. (2024). The effect of adverse and positive childhood experiences, attachment, and emotional support on adult mental health.Eur J Ment Health, 19, e0031. doi:10.5708/ejmh.19.2024.0031
[15] Le G. H., Wong S., Au H., Badulescu S., Gill H., Vasudeva S.,.. McIntyre R. S. (2025). Association between rumination, suicidal ideation and suicide attempts in persons with depressive and other mood disorders and healthy controls:A systematic review and meta-analysis.J Affect Disord, 368, 513-527. doi:10.1016/j.jad.2024.09.118
[16] Leroux P. A., Dissaux N., Le Reste J. Y., Bronsard G., Lavenne-Collot N., & Moehler E. (2023). Association between HPA axis functioning and mental health in maltreated children and adolescents:A systematic literature review.Children (Basel), 10(8), 1344. doi:10.3390/children10081344
[17] Mansueto G., Cavallo C., Palmieri S., Ruggiero G. M., Sassaroli S., & Caselli G. (2021). Adverse childhood experiences and repetitive negative thinking in adulthood:A systematic review.Clin Psychol Psychother, 28(3), 557-568. doi:10.1002/cpp.2590
[18] Miu A. C., Szentágotai-Tatar A., Balázsi R., Nechita D., Bunea I., & Pollak S. D. (2022). Emotion regulation as mediator between childhood adversity and psychopathology:A meta-analysis.Clin Psychol Rev, 93, 102141. doi:10.1016/j.cpr.2022.102141
[19] Moulds, M. L., & McEvoy, P. M. (2025). Repetitive negative thinking as a transdiagnostic cognitive process.Nat Rev Psychol, 4(2), 127-141. doi:10.1038/s44159-024-00399-6
[20] Nolen-Hoeksema S., Stice E., Wade E., & Bohon C. (2007). Reciprocal relations between rumination and bulimic, substance abuse, and depressive symptoms in female adolescents.Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 116(1), 198-207. doi:10.1037/0021-843x.116.1.198
[21] Nolen-Hoeksema S., Wisco B. E., & Lyubomirsky S. (2008). Rethinking rumination.Perspect Psychol Sci, 3(5), 400-424. doi:10.1111/j.1745-6924.2008.00088.x
[22] O'Connor, R. C., & Kirtley, O. J. (2018). The integrated motivational-volitional model of suicidal behaviour.Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci, 373(1754), 20170268. doi:10.1098/rstb.2017.0268
[23] Rodwin A. H., Banya M., Shimizu R., Jaccard J., Lindsey M. A., & Munson M. R. (2025). Childhood adversities and suicidal ideation among young adults with serious mental illnesses:The mediating roles of perceived stress, dispositional hope, and mental health hope.J Affect Disord, 368, 820-828. doi:10.1016/j.jad.2024.09.095
[24] Yang W. H., Sun R., Wang C., Chen J., Zhang C. G., Yu J., & Liu H. H. (2023). Epidemiology of depressive disorders among youth during Gaokao to college in China:Results from Hunan Normal University mental health survey.BMC Psychiatry, 23(1), 481. doi:10.1186/s12888-023-04972-w
[25] Zhang Y. H., Xu W., McDonnell D., & Wang J. L. (2024). The relationship between childhood maltreatment subtypes and adolescent internalizing problems:The mediating role of maladaptive cognitive emotion regulation strategies.Child Abuse & Neglect, 152, 106796. doi:10.1016/j.chiabu.2024.106796
[26] Zheng H. C., Liu D. B., Cheng J., Wang D. B., Liu Y., & Wu Y. L. (2022). Negative life events increase the risk of suicidal ideation in 6653 Chinese freshmen:From a 1-year longitudinal study.J Affect Disord, 299, 604-609. doi:10.1016/j.jad.2021.12.039
[27] Zheng S., Stewart J. G., Bagby R. M., & Harkness K. L. (2022). Specific early maladaptive schemas differentially mediate the relations of emotional and sexual maltreatment to recent life events in youth with depression.Clin Psychol Psychother, 29(3), 1020-1033. doi:10.1002/cpp.2681
[28] Ziobrowski H. N., Buka S. L., Austin S. B., Duncan A. E., Simone M., Sullivan A. J.,.. Field A. E. (2021). Child and adolescent maltreatment patterns and risk of eating disorder behaviors developing in young adulthood.Child Abuse Negl, 120, 105225. doi:10.1016/j.chiabu.2021.105225

Options

Outlines

模态框（Modal）标题

Abstract

Cite this article

References