Longitudinal associations between childhood maltreatment and suicidal ideation in youth: the roles of complex posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms and interpersonal factors
- 1Normal College, Jingchu University of Technology
- 2Research Team of Integrated Mental Health Education for Primary, Secondary, and Higher Education, Jingchu University of Technology
- 3Beijing Key Laboratory of Applied Experimental Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, Beijing Normal University
Abstract
Background: Globally, suicide ranks as the third leading cause of death among youth, with risk particularly pronounced among those who have experienced childhood maltreatment. Guided by the developmental model of suicide risk and the interpersonal theory of suicide, this study aimed to examine the link between childhood maltreatment and suicidal ideation in youth, and to investigate the mediating roles of complex posttraumatic stress disorder (CPTSD) symptoms and interpersonal needs.
Methods: Three-wave longitudinal data from 1,427 college students (53.7% female) with childhood maltreatment were included. Participants completed self-report measures assessing childhood maltreatment, CPTSD symptoms, perceived burdensomeness (PB) and thwarted belongingness (TB), and suicidal ideation. Structural equation modeling was conducted to evaluate the proposed pathways.
Results: Findings indicated that PB, rather than TB, functions as the primary proximal risk factor for suicidal ideation. Furthermore, within CPTSD, disturbances in self-organization (DSO), rather than posttraumatic stress (PTS), mediated the association between childhood maltreatment and PB. Specifically, childhood maltreatment was indirectly associated with PB through the negative self-concept dimension of DSO, and PB was subsequently positively associated with suicidal ideation.
Conclusions: These findings suggest that, for youth with childhood maltreatment, DSO may be even more critical than PTS in understanding suicidal ideation. Intervention strategies targeting negative self-concept may be particularly effective in reducing suicidal ideation among youth.
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BibTeX
@article{yu2026longitudinal,
title = {{Longitudinal associations between childhood maltreatment and suicidal ideation in youth: the roles of complex posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms and interpersonal factors}},
author = {Qingyun Yu and Yang Li and Li Wang and Juncheng Guo and Wenchao Wang},
journal = {Frontiers in Psychiatry},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.3389/fpsyt.2026.1976531},
url = {https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2026.1976531/full},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Longitudinal associations between childhood maltreatment and suicidal ideation in youth: the roles of complex posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms and interpersonal factors
AU - Qingyun Yu
AU - Yang Li
AU - Li Wang
AU - Juncheng Guo
AU - Wenchao Wang
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/14
JO - Frontiers in Psychiatry
DO - 10.3389/fpsyt.2026.1976531
UR - https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2026.1976531/full
AB - Background: Globally, suicide ranks as the third leading cause of death among youth, with risk particularly pronounced among those who have experienced childhood maltreatment. Guided by the developmental model of suicide risk and the interpersonal theory of suicide, this study aimed to examine the link between childhood maltreatment and suicidal ideation in youth, and to investigate the mediating roles of complex posttraumatic stress disorder (CPTSD) symptoms and interpersonal needs. Methods: Three-wave longitudinal data from 1,427 college students (53.7% female) with childhood maltreatment were included. Participants completed self-report measures assessing childhood maltreatment, CPTSD symptoms, perceived burdensomeness (PB) and thwarted belongingness (TB), and suicidal ideation. Structural equation modeling was conducted to evaluate the proposed pathways. Results: Findings indicated that PB, rather than TB, functions as the primary proximal risk factor for suicidal ideation. Furthermore, within CPTSD, disturbances in self-organization (DSO), rather than posttraumatic stress (PTS), mediated the association between childhood maltreatment and PB. Specifically, childhood maltreatment was indirectly associated with PB through the negative self-concept dimension of DSO, and PB was subsequently positively associated with suicidal ideation. Conclusions: These findings suggest that, for youth with childhood maltreatment, DSO may be even more critical than PTS in understanding suicidal ideation. Intervention strategies targeting negative self-concept may be particularly effective in reducing suicidal ideation among youth.
SN - 1664-0640
ER -