Background: Exposure to environmental vulnerability poses significant threats to adolescent suicidal ideation, while individual resilience can mitigate these adverse effects with notable gender commonalities and differences. However, research examining how these factors co-configure at the individual level remains limited, particularly from a gender-specific perspective. Thus, the present study aims to adopt a person-centered analytic approach to identify gender-specific configurations of environmental vulnerability and individual resilience associated with suicidal ideation among Chinese adolescents. Methods: Data were collected from 2616 Chinese primary and secondary school students (aged 10–17; 1223 girls). Participants completed validated scales measuring environmental vulnerability, individual resilience, and suicidal ideation. Latent profile analysis (LPA) was conducted separately by gender. Results: Gender differences were prominent: males exhibited higher resilience and lower suicidal ideation, while females reported higher environmental vulnerability and elevated levels of suicidal ideation. LPA identified three distinct profiles for males: Low Vulnerable–High Protective–Low Risk (LHL), Medium Vulnerable–Low Protective–Low Risk (MLL), and High Vulnerable–Low Protective–High Risk (HLH). Four profiles emerged for females: LHL, MLL, Medium Vulnerable–Low Protective–Medium Risk (MLM), and HLH. Crucially, within the HLH profile, males exhibited particularly deficient humor (η2 = 0.19) and confidence (η2 = 0.16), while females formed a distinct subgroup characterized by severe academic and family stressors (η2 = 0.30–0.36). Conclusion: The study underscores developing gender-specific mental health interventions using a nuanced, person-centered approach that considers both environmental risk and individual resilience factors, which allows for targeted suicide prevention strategies addressing the unique needs of male and female adolescents.
Li et al. (2026) studied this question.