Stressful life events and suicidal ideation among rural-to-urban migrants in China: The role of coping

Background & Objective: Stressful life events (SLE) pose potential risks for poor mental health including suicidal behaviors, but how SLE affects one's suicidal behaviors remain under-studied. Data are further limited on how coping mediates the relationship between SLE and suicidal behaviors. This study, using data from a sample of rural-to-urban migrants in China, examine the relationship of SLE, suicidal ideation and coping.

Methods: A total of 1,006 rural-to-urban migrants (mean age 25.39 years and 33% women) were recruited from 10 occupation clusters in Beijing using quota sampling scheme. A cross-sectional survey was administered; multivariate regressions and structural equation modeling were employed to assess the relationship between SLE and suicidal ideation as well as the mediation effects of adaptive and maladaptive coping.

Results: Approximately 10% of migrants (9% female and 10% male) had suicidal ideation. There were no gender differences in number of SLE and coping. There is a dose-response relationship between SLE and the likelihood of suicidal ideation. SLE and coping are both significant predictors of suicidal ideation, even after controlling for potential confounders. Adaptive coping reduced the effect of SLE on suicidal ideation, while maladaptive coping exacerbated the effect of SLE on suicide ideation.

Conclusion: In study of SLE and suicidal behaviors, coping remains an important factor their relationship. Adaptive coping and maladaptive coping represent different mediating effects in the relationship between SLE and suicidal ideation. Public health interventions are needed to improve mental health of the migratory population. Specially, training of adaptive coping can be an effective approach.