The effect of childhood trauma on suicide risk: the chain mediating effects of resilience and mental distress

Abstract

Abstract Background Suicide is the fourth leading cause of death among young people aged 15–29 years. A large number of studies have found that mental disorder in adulthood is closely related to childhood trauma, and the relationship between childhood trauma and suicide risk is influenced by resilience and mental distress. This study aimed to explore the effects of childhood trauma on suicide risk among young people and the potential roles of resilience and mental distress in the relationship between childhood trauma on suicide risk.Methods A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 742 young adults who were in graduate school stage from multiple provinces and cities in China. The Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ-Short Form), Connor-Davison Resilience Scale (CD-RISC) and Suicide Behavior Questionnaire-Revised (SBQ-R) were used to measure young adults’ childhood trauma, resilience and suicide risk, respectively. 9-items Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) and 7-items self-report Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale (GAD-7) were used to measure mental distress. Correlation analysis was performed to explore the initial relationships among the main variables. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was conducted to examine the chain mediating effects of resilience and mental distress on the relationship between childhood trauma and suicide risk.Results Childhood trauma significantly predicted suicide risk (β = 0.295, p < 0.001) and mental distress (β = 0.171, p < 0.001), which had negative effect on resilience (β = -0.198, p < 0.001). Resilience negatively affected mental distress (β = -0.491, p < 0.001) and suicide risk (β = -0.150, p < 0.001), while mental distress positively associated with suicide risk (β = 0.225, p < 0.001).Conclusion Mediation effect analysis showed that resilience and mental distress not only mediated the relationships between childhood trauma and suicide risk independently, but also in sequence. The present study provides a comprehensive view of the suicide risk in graduate students, and suggest to pay attention to their resilience and mental distress to prevent suicide risk.