The Influence of Negative Emotion and Self-Acceptance on Suicidal Ideation of Disabled College Students: The Mediating Effect of Hopelessness.

Background: Disabled college students are facing special life pressures and social challenges due to physical and psychological obstacles. Given such difficulties, they may experience a high level of negative emotion (NE) that aggravates their risk of suicidal ideation. As a positive psychological trait, self-acceptance is very important to promote the mental health of disabled college students and reduce their risk of committing suicide. A state of high-intensity hopelessness easily mediates the influence of the NE and self-acceptance of disabled college students.

Methods: A group questionnaire survey was conducted among 663 college students with disabilities across 16 universities from Zhejiang Province, Jiangsu Province, Shanghai City and Anhui Province of China. These surveys involved the use of a self-acceptance questionnaire, NE questionnaire, suicidal ideation questionnaire, and the Beck hopelessness scale, and the mediating role of hopelessness in the influence of NE and self-acceptance on the suicidal ideation of disabled college students was tested.

Results: Self-acceptance had a significantly negative influence on suicidal ideation (P<0.01), while NE exerted a significantly positive influence (P<0.01). Hopelessness partially mediated the influence of NE on the suicidal ideation of disabled college students and exerted a masking effect on the influence of self-acceptance on suicidal ideation. Hopelessness was a key psychological mechanism that bonds NE and self-acceptance with suicidal ideation.

Conclusion: The mental health intervention measures for disabled college students should include self-acceptance strategies and skills for reducing these students' NE to relieve their hopelessness and further reduce their risk of committing suicide.