Relationships between Perceived Discrimination and Suicidal Ideation among Impoverished Chinese College Students: The Mediating Roles of Social Support and Loneliness

Abstract

We explored the mediating effect of social support and loneliness in the relationships between perceived discrimination and suicidal ideation among impoverished Chinese college stu-dents. Using the convenience cluster sampling method, we chose a total of 964 impoverished college students from a central province of China. Students completed the cross-sectional survey using the Perceived Discrimination Questionnaire, the Social Support Rating Scale, the University of California at Los Angeles Loneliness Scale, and the Beck Scale for Suicidal Ideation. Correlation analysis and structural equation modeling analysis were conducted to clarify the relationships between study variables. Correlation analysis showed that perceived discrimination, loneliness, and suicidal ideation were positively correlated with each other; social support was negatively correlated with perceived discrimination, loneliness, and suicidal ideation. In addition, structural equation modeling analysis indicated that perceived discrimination had a direct positive effect on suicidal ideation; social support and loneliness partially mediated the relationship between perceived discrimination and suicidal ideation. Specifically, perceived discrimination was positively associated with suicidal ideation via social support and loneliness separately, and had a serial association through both social support and loneliness. Thus, perceived discrimination may have influenced suicidal ideation through both social support and loneliness.