Parenting styles and suicidal ideation among Chinese college students: The mediating role of perceived social support

OBJECTIVE: This study aims to explore the relationship between parenting styles and suicidal ideation among college students, with a focus on the mediating role of perceived social support. METHODS: A total of 608 college students completed the Self-Rating Idea of Suicide Scale, the short-form Egna Minnen av. Barndoms Uppfostran (EMBU) for Chinese, and the Perceived Social Support Scale. This study conducted correlation analysis using SPSS 29.0 and performed mediation effect analysis using structural equation modeling in AMOS 26.0. RESULTS: (1) Significant correlations were found among suicidal ideation, parenting styles, and perceived social support; (2) Parental emotional warmth was significantly and negatively associated with suicidal ideation (r = -0.34, p < 0.001), while both parental rejection (r = 0.32, p < 0.001) and overprotection (r = 0.28, p < 0.001) were significantly and positively associated with suicidal ideation; (3) Perceived social support partially mediated the relationship between positive parenting styles and suicidal ideation (effect size = -0.23, 95 % CI = -0.31, -0.17) as well as the relationship between negative parenting styles and suicidal ideation (effect size = 0.05, 95 % CI = 0.01, 0.10). CONCLUSION: Positive parenting styles are associated with higher levels of perceived social support and lower likelihood of suicidal ideation among college students. These findings extend the applicability of parenting style theory and the internal working model of attachment theory to extreme behavioral ideation.