Suicidal ideation among Chinese survivors of childhood sexual abuse: Associations with rumination and perceived social support

Abstract

Background: Although previous studies have shown that childhood sexual abuse (CSA) experiences might be related to suicidal ideation in later life, its associations with rumination and perceived social support (PSS) remain unclear. Objective: The present study aimed to expand prior findings among Chinese survivors of CSA to investigate rumination's effect on the association between CSA and suicidal ideation, and the potential moderating role of PSS in this relationship. Methods: The Childhood Sexual Abuse Questionnaire, the Ruminative Response Scale, the Multi-dimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support, and the Symptom Checklist were completed by 6834 college students (56.61% females). Results: In all, 1400 (20.76%) students reported experiences of CSA. The rate of CSA in males was higher than that in females (24.23% vs. 18.10%). Students with CSA experiences reported a higher level of suicidal ideation than those without such experiences. CSA and rumination were positively related to suicidal ideation, and PSS were negatively related to CSA, rumination and suicidal ideation. CSA predicted suicidal ideation both directly and indirectly through rumination. PSS moderated the effect of rumination on suicidal ideation. Conclusions: This study provides evidence for the effects of rumination on the association between CSA and suicidal ideation, and the buffering role of PSS on the relationship between rumination and suicidal ideation in Chinese survivors with CSA experiences. These findings suggest that developing adaptive emotional regulation strategies and enhancing the level of PSS might contribute to the alleviation of negative influences from CSA.