The relationships among the meaning of life, coping styles, and suicidal ideation: a network analysis

Abstract

Background

Suicide is a serious global public health problem, and suicidal ideation is a significant predictor of and risk factor for suicide deaths. Previous studies have confirmed the relationships among suicidal ideation, the meaning of life and coping styles using latent variables but have overlooked the heterogeneity of symptoms.

Objectives

The purpose of this study was to explore the fine-grained relationships among these three factors based on network analysis to provide a theoretical basis to identify potential psychological interventions for suicidal ideation.

Methods

These factors were investigated by administering the Chinese Meaning of life Questionnaire (C-MLQ), the Simple Coping Styles Questionnaire (SCSQ), and the Suicidal Ideation Self-Assessment Scale (SIOSS) to 800 self-reported healthy adults. Analyses of network structure and bridge expected influence (BEI) were conducted with R4.1.1 software.

Results

The network showed a total of 18 edges for the meaning of life, coping styles, and suicidal ideation communities. Of these, S1, “pessimism”, had the greatest negative BEI value (-0.25) in the suicidal ideation community; M1, “perception of meaning of life”, had the greatest negative BEI value (-0.42) in the meaning of life and coping styles communities; and C2, “negative coping”, had the greatest positive BEI value (0.31).

Conclusions

Complex pathways exist among meaning of life, coping styles and suicidal ideation. Negative coping is the strongest risk factor for suicidal ideation, the perception of the meaning of life is the strongest protective factor for suicidal ideation, and pessimism is a potential target for suicide prevention interventions.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12889-025-23877-9.

Background

Suicide is a serious global public health problem, with approximately 800,000 suicide deaths per year due to suicide and 10 to 20 times that number of suicide attempts worldwide [1, 2]. Suicidal ideation is a precursor to suicidal behavior and is the most sensitive predictor of suicidal behavior [3–6]. Turecki & Brent [7] showed that individuals who reported having suicidal ideation in the past 12 months were more likely to attempt suicide in the following 12 months. A meta-analysis by Hubers et al. showed that suicidal ideation was positively correlated with suicide risk and that patients with higher suicidal ideation always had a higher risk of suicidal behavior, both in psychiatric and nonpsychiatric populations [8].

Previous studies have shown that various factors are related to suicidal ideation. Shen & Yuan et al. showed that depressed patients had a higher prevalence of suicidal ideation; more than 50% of individuals who died by suicide and 20-48% of patients who attempted suicide were depressed [9, 10]. Arias & Westmoreland [11, 12] et al. have reported that ADHD patients have significantly greater rates of suicidal ideation and greater rates of suicide attempts than other patients. A study by Beristianos et al. found that 12.1% of individuals develop suicidal ideation after experiencing a traumatic event, and 1.1% of individuals experience persistent suicidal ideation throughout their life after such an event [13]. In addition, related studies have found that suicidal ideation is significantly associated with various types of negative emotions, which may induce suicide attempts or even suicidal behaviors across the entire spectrum of suicidal phenomena once an individual has developed suicidal ideation [14, 15].

Given the strong link between suicidal ideation and suicidal behaviors, it is of paramount importance explore in depth the factors influencing suicidal ideation (especially risk and protective factors) in depth and comprehensively, and to enhance the effectiveness of suicidal intervention strategies accordingly for the effective prevention of suicide. The evolution of suicidal ideation to suicide attempt is a complex process interwoven with multiple factors, among which psychological factors, especially those related to coping strategies and individual psychological states are particularly important due to their controllability and modifiability [16, 17]. In recent years, psychology’s understanding of suicidal ideation has broadened beyond individual risk factors to encompass a wider range of socio-cultural factors and their interactions with individual psychology [18]. Numerous scientific studies have demonstrated that implementing appropriate psychological interventions, such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), psychodynamic therapy, and psychoanalysis, can result in significant improvements in an individual’s psychological state, encompassing depressive mood, anxiety levels, and suicidal ideation [19–21]. Specifically, Briggs et al. conducted a study that confirmed the beneficial effects of psychoanalytic and psychodynamic therapies in reducing suicidal ideation and self-harming behaviors, while also enhancing psychosocial health [21]. Furthermore, other research reviews have observed that Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT) and CBT exhibit the most promising and efficacious outcomes in treating patients with suicidal ideation [22, 23]. In particular, CBT has been shown to decrease the risk of new suicide attempts by approximately 50% when compared to conventional treatment approaches, thereby emphasizing its effectiveness in suicide prevention [24]. Therefore, it is important to explore the psychological variables related to coping and individual psychological states that influence the development of suicidal ideation in order to provide theoretical support for suicide prevention intervention strategies.

Of the several psychological variables that are closely related to suicidal ideation, meaning of life is one of the most closely related. A sense of meaning of life refers to an individual’s awareness of his or her own existence and realization of his or her self-worth by understanding and pursuing the purpose and meaning of life [25]. For example, several studies have shown that a sense of meaning of life is the most powerful protective factor against suicidal ideation and can act either directly or indirectly through mediation or regulation [26–28]. Other relevant studies have also shown that individuals with a low sense of meaning of life have greater suicidal ideation than individuals with a high sense of meaning of life [25, 28, 29]. The main reason is that the stronger one’s sense of meaning of life is, the clearer the goal of life, and the more likely an individual is to be opposed to or decide against acts of suicide [30]. Individuals who are unable to perceive and pursue meaning of life will feel that life lacks a goal and is not fun; these individuals will develop cognitive, emotional and behavioral disorders [31], as well as a series of psychological and behavioral problems such as depression, loneliness, and suicidal behavior [32, 33].

Coping styles is another psychological variable that is closely linked to suicidal ideation, particularly among individuals with specific coping strategies and psychological states [34–36]. Coping styles refer to the psychological and behavioral strategies that individuals actively or passively employ to manage negative external and internal stressful events [37]. These strategies can be categorized as either positive, such as actively seeking social support, engaging in positive problem-solving, and regulating emotions, or negative, including avoidance, denial, or self-blame [38]. Numerous studies have demonstrated a significant negative association between positive coping styles (which consists of active, planning, instrumental support, positive reframe, humor, acceptance, seeking social and emotional support) and suicidal ideation, indicating that individuals who adopt positive strategies generally exhibit lower levels of suicidal ideation [39, 40]. Conversely, negative coping styles (e.g. avoidance and emotional coping style) have been shown to exhibit a significant positive correlation with suicidal ideation, suggesting that those who utilize negative strategies may be at an elevated risk of suicidal behavior [41, 42]. A 4-month longitudinal study investigating the relationship between coping styles and suicidal ideation in a high-risk clinical sample found that the use of positive coping strategies was protective against suicidal behavior in men but not in women [43]. Data from another survey of 768 college students in China revealed that, among the various factors influencing suicidal ideation, negative coping styles emerged as a prominent risk factor, exhibiting a significantly greater influence than any other factor in predicting suicidal behavior [44]. Thus, positive and negative coping styles may be relevant indicators for understanding the mechanisms underlying the development of suicidal ideation, as well as potential targets for prevention and intervention.

Interestingly, previous studies have also explored the relationship between meaning of life and coping styles. Specifically, a sense of meaning of life has been found to be significantly positively correlated with positive coping styles and significantly negatively correlated with negative coping styles [45]. Furthermore, individuals who perceive and pursue a higher degree of meaning of life tend to adopt more positive coping styles [46]. For example, Halama et al. demonstrated that college students with high scores for perceived meaning of life focused on problem-solving, while those with low scores tended to avoid problems, suggesting that perceived meaning of life plays a moderating role in coping styles [47].

However, when investigating the relationship between suicidal ideation and meaning of life or between suicidal ideation and coping styles, previous studies have mainly involved correlation tests based on the total scores of the scales measuring each construct rather than the scores for individual dimensions of those constructs [48, 49]. In fact, suicidal ideation, meaning of life, and coping styles are all multidimensional concepts. For example, meaning of life includes the dimensions of perceiving meaning of life and seeking meaning of life [19]. Coping styles include positive and negative coping and suicidal ideation includes optimism, sleep and despair [32, 50]. Therefore, latent variable models that rely solely on scale total scores often treat different symptoms as equally important when assessing the severity of symptoms. This methodology overlooks the unique contributions of individual symptoms to psychological conceptualizations and individual psychological responses [51]. Consequently, the model inadequately captures the relative importance of various dimensions within psychological mechanisms, and further obscures the intricate and nuanced relationships that may exist among these psychological dimensions [52].

To overcome these limitations, network analysis methods offer a valuable perspective. As an emerging statistical tool, network analysis focuses on the mathematical analysis and visual presentation of interactions among complex variables. It has been widely employed in the study of psychological structures and psychological symptoms [53–55]. From the perspective of network theory, psychological mechanisms emerge from the interplay between different variables or dimensions [56]. Drawing upon previous research [57], we represent dimensions such as suicidal ideation, meaning of life, and coping styles as nodes within a network, with the interactions between these dimensions being represented by edges. Thus, network analysis facilitates an in-depth exploration of the specific psychological mechanisms that link dimensions of meaning of life and coping styles to suicidal ideation. Furthermore, network analysis allows for the assessment of bridge centrality indices, enabling the identification of bridge nodes that are critical for maintaining the co-occurrence of variables and transmitting the influence of one variable on another [58]. To date, the dimension-level network encompassing meaning of life, coping styles, and suicidal ideation has not been studied.

To fill this research gap, we constructed a network structure that encompasses meaning of life, coping styles, and suicidal ideation, and subsequently examined the characteristics of this network. The main aims of this study are threefold: (1) to investigate the connections between dimensions of meaning of life, coping styles, and suicidal ideation; (2) to identify the critical bridge nodes that facilitate the transmission of either positive or negative impacts of meaning of life and coping styles on suicidal ideation; and (3) to provide new insights for clinical suicide prevention and intervention strategies.

Materials and methods

Study design and participants

In this study, 1,000 adults aged 18 and older were recruited between January and February 2023 on the Questionnaire Star platform (http://www.wjx.cn/) using snowball sampling. Given WeChat’s large user base in China, it was used to efficiently distribute and collect online questionnaires. Specifically, we started with a randomly selected group of young adults, incentivizing them to forward the questionnaire to as many peers as possible to ensure adequate participant numbers, diversity, and survey coverage.

The inclusion criteria for this study encompassed: (1) self-reported healthy adults of either gender; (2) the absence of a history of neurological or psychiatric disorders, normal cognitive functioning, and adequate intellectual capacity; and (3) voluntary participation. Conversely, the exclusion criteria were: (1) incorrect completion of basic information (age, gender) or failure to correctly answer a polygraph question (assessing truthfulness by requiring “strongly disagree”), resulting in the exclusion of 98 subjects; (2) incomplete responses or a response time of less than 100 s, suggesting possible inattention or insufficient understanding, which excluded an additional 30 subjects; and (3) scores of 4 or higher on the masking factor of the Suicide Ideation Scale, indicating potentially invalid responses or an elevated suicide risk, leading to the exclusion of 72 subjects. After rigorous screening, the final sample size was 800 participants.

This study was reviewed and approved by the Ethics Committee for Drug Clinical Trials at the First Affiliated Hospital of the Air Force Military Medical University (No. KY20224106-1), conducted in strict adherence to the Declaration of Helsinki. All participants provided informed consent.

Measures

Chinese meaning of life questionnaire (C-MLQ)

The C-MLQ is a locally revised self-assessment scale used to assess an individual’s experience and pursuit of meaning of life [25]. This scale consists of 10 items, including two dimensions: the perception of meaning of life and the pursuit of meaning of life. All the entries are scored on a seven-point Likert scale ranging from 1 = “not at all consistent” to 7 = “completely consistent”, with higher scores indicating that the individual experiences a greater degree of meaning of life. The Cronbach’s alpha coefficient for this scale was 0.80, indicating that the scale met psychometric standards.

Simplified coping style questionnaire (SCSQ)

The SCSQ is a self-report scale used to measure the different attitudes and measures people may take when coping with life events in everyday life [59]. It consists of 20 items, including two dimensions, positive coping and negative coping; positive coping consists of Items 1–12, and negative coping consists of Items 13–20. The scores for each dimension are obtained by summing the item scores. All the entries are scored on a four-point Likert scale from 0 = “do not use” to 3 = “often use”, with higher scores indicating that individuals tend to cope in the appropriate manner. The Cronbach’s alpha coefficients for the positive coping subscale and the negative coping subscale in this study were 0.89 and 0.78, respectively, which met the psychometric criteria.

Selfrating Idea of suicide scale (SIOSS)

The SIOSS is a self-rating scale used to assess suicidal ideation [50]. It consists of 26 items, including four factors, namely, despair, optimism ((hereinafter referred to as pessimism in this study for clarity, given its reverse scoring method), sleep, and masking, and each item is scored as 1 = “yes” or 0 = “no”. The total suicidal ideation score was summed based on the despair, pessimism and sleep factor scores; a total score ≥ 12 was considered to indicate suicidal ideation, and a score < 12 was considered to indicate no suicidal ideation. A higher suicidal ideation score is interpreted as reflecting a greater degree of despair, heightened pessimism, and a proliferation of psychological characteristics associated with sleep disorders. Notably, prior studies [60–62] have consistently shown that the SIOSS exhibits good reliability and validity within the Chinese population. Despite its robust psychometric properties in Chinese cultural contexts, the cross-cultural applicability of the scale warrants further investigation. Consequently, researchers planning to administer the SIOSS in diverse populations should be mindful of potential cultural variations in symptom presentation and item interpretation. In the current study, the Cronbach’s alpha coefficient for this scale was 0.80, which satisfies the established psychometric criterion. The cumulative evidence from both previous research and our own assessment of the scale’s reliability strongly supports our decision to utilize the SIOSS for evaluating suicidal ideation in our investigation.

Statistical analysis

In this study, we calculated the mean, standard deviation and Cronbach’s alpha coefficient of the C-MLQ, SCSQ and SIOSS scores by using SPSS 25.0 software. Moreover, we used R4.1.1 software to construct network model of meaning of life, coping styles, and suicidal ideation and evaluated the bridge expected influence (BEI) indices of the nodes in this network.

Network model construction

The qgraph software package was used for network construction and visualization analysis [63], as well as for fitting the data via Gaussian image models [64]. Additionally, a combination of least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) regularization and the extended Bayesian information criterion (EBIC) was used to trivialize edge attenuation to 0 [65], thus reflecting the net correlation between two nodes [66]. In addition, we set the parameter of the EBIC to 0.5, mainly to determine an optimal network model. Therefore, in this network model, two main communities are included, namely, the coping styles and meaning of life community and the suicidal ideation community. In this case, nodes represent dimensions, each edge represents the partial correlation between two nodes, and the edge weight of each node pair is estimated by statistical control to reduce interference from other nodes. Finally, we used the nonparametric self-help method to estimate the 95% confidence intervals to assess the accuracy of the edge weights; the self-help method was used to test the difference between the edge weights of different node pairs (1000 bootstraps, α = 0.05); and all of the above operations were evaluated based on the R package bootnett [67].

BEI evaluation

To explore the links between different communities in two networks, we used the networktools packages in R to compute the BEI value for each node [68]. The BEI represents the sum of the edge weights of the connecting edges of a node with nodes in other associations that are not its own [58]. A higher BEI value indicates that a symptom plays a crucial role in the interplay of different mental disorders [58]. In addition, we used the bootnet software package in R to test the variability of the expected effects of bridges between different nodes and to calculate the correlation stability (CS) coefficient. Here, we mainly use the sample descent self-help method (1000 bootstraps, α = 0.05)) to assess the stability of the BEI, and ideally, the correlation stability coefficient should be greater than 0.5 [67].

Results

Descriptive statistics

The ages of the 800 adult subjects ranged from 18 to 46 years, with a mean age of 23.93 ± 4.17 years; 444 (55.5%) were male, and 360 (45%) were female. In total, 47 (5.9%) screened positive for suicidal ideation. The means, SDs, and BEI values for the meaning of life, coping style, and suicidal ideation dimensions are shown in Table 1.

Table 1.

Means, SDs, BEI values and abbreviation for each node of the C-MLQ, SCSQ and SIOSS

Variables	M	SD	BEI
Meaning of life ( C-MLQ )
M1: Presence of meaning of life	28.26	5.60	-0.42
M2: Search for meaning of life	25.42	7.99	0.04
Coping styles ( SCSQ )
C1: Positive coping	34.35	6.89	-0.2
C2: Negative coping	15.84	4.64	0.31
Suicidal ideation ( SIOSS )
S1: Pessimism	0.23	0.63	-0.25
S2: Sleep	0.81	1.12	0.08
S3: Despair	1.70	2.73	-0.11

M mean, SD standard deviation, BEI bridge expected influence

Network construction

The network model of meaning of life, coping styles, and suicidal ideation is shown in Figure. 1 A. There were 18 edges with nonzero edge weights (ranging from − 0.23 to 0.37) in the network, including eight edges within the communities and 10 cross-community edges. Of the cross-community edges, there were six positive edges and twelve edges. The strongest positive cross-community edge were as follows: C2 “Negative coping”—S2 “Sleep” (weight = 0.13), C2 “Negative coping”—S3 “Despair” (weight = 0.13), C2 “Negative coping”—S1 “Pessimism” (weight = 0.04) and M2 “Search for meaning of life”—S3 “Despair” (weight = 0.04). The strongest negative cross-community edges were as follows: M1 “Presence of meaning of life”—S3 “Despair” (weight = − 0.23), M1 “Presence of meaning of life”—S1 “Pessimism” (weight = − 0.19), C1 “Positive coping”—S2 “Sleep” (weight = −0.05), and C1 “Positive coping”—S3 “Despair” (weight = −0.05). In addition, several relatively strong edges linked the dimensions of meaning of life and coping styles, such as M1 “Presence of meaning of life”—C1 “Positive coping” (weight = 0.28), M1 “Presence of meaning of life”—C2 “Negative coping” (weight = −0.20), and M2 “Search for meaning of life”—C2 “Negative coping” (weight = 0.13). Table 2 displays all the edge weights of the correlation matrix in the network.

Fig. 1.

The meaning of life, coping styles, and suicidal ideation network structure and the BEI values in the network. (A) The meaning of life, coping styles, and suicidal ideation network structure. The blue and red lines represent positive and negative partial correlations, respectively. The thick lines represent strong partial correlations. (B) The BEI values of the nodes in the meaning of life, coping styles, and suicidal ideation network (raw scores). C1 = positive coping, C2 = negative coping, M1 = presence of meaning of life, M2 = search for meaning of life, S1 = pessimism, S2 = sleep, S3 = despair, BEI = bridge expected influence

Table 2.

Edge weights in the network model of meaning of life, coping styles, and suicidal ideation

	M1	M2	C1	C2	S1	S2	S3
M1	0	0.26	0.28	−0.2	−0.19	0	−0.23
M2	0.26	0	0.07	0.13	0	0	0.04
C1	0.28	0.07	0	0.26	−0.11	−0.05	−0.05
C2	−0.2	0.13	0.26	0	0.04	0.13	0.13
S1	−0.19	0	−0.11	0.04	0	0.1	0.21
S2	0	0	−0.05	0.13	0.1	0	0.37
S3	−0.23	0.04	−0.05	0.13	0.21	0.37	0

M1: presence of meaning of life; M2: search for meaning of life; C1: positive coping; A2: negative coping; S1: pessimism; S2: sleep; S3: despair

Furthermore, the meaning of life, coping styles, ad suicidal ideation dimensions had narrow 95% confidence intervals for the network edge weights, indicating that the assessment of the edge weights was accurate [53], see Supplementary Figure. S1. Figure. S2 of the Supplementary displays the results of the difference test of edge weights.

Network Bridge centrality

The BEI values of the nodes in the meaning of life, coping styles, and suicidal ideation network are displayed in Fig. 1B. As the results suggested, C2 “negative coping” had the greatest positive BEI value (0.31) for the meaning of life and coping style community; M1 “presence of meaning of life”, and C1 “positive coping” had the greatest negative BEI values (BEI=−0.42 and − 0.20, respectively) in this community. Conversely, S1“pessimism” had the greatest negative BEI value (−0.25) in the suicidal ideation community. Moreover, as shown in supplementary material Figure. S3 in the Supplementary, the BEI values of C2 “negative coping” and M1 “presence of meaning of life” were significantly different from those of the other nodes (P < 0.05). The results of the stability test on BEI are displayed in Figure. S4 in the Supplementary. Finally, the CS coefficient of BEI in the meaning of life, coping styles, and suicidal ideation network was 0.75, which was greater than 0.5 and thus suggested adequate stability.

Discussion

Previous studies have established connections among meaning of life, coping styles, and suicidal ideation [35, 36, 69, 70], but they primarily focused on latent variables and neglected the heterogeneity among symptoms. Therefore, the present study innovatively uses network analysis at the dimensional level within a unified framework, which allows for a more in-depth exploration of the complex relationships among these three factors compared to traditional methods that focus on latent variables. This approach can capture the fine-grained associations and unique roles of each factor, providing a more comprehensive understanding of the underlying mechanisms. The objectives are as follows: first, to investigate the associations between the dimensions of meaning of life and coping styles, on the one hand, and suicidal ideation, on the other; second, to identify key bridge nodes that mediate the positive or negative influence of meaning of life and coping styles on suicidal ideation; and third, to provide insights for clinical suicide prevention and intervention strategies. Our findings reveal complex interconnections among these dimensions and identify bridge nodes with significant implications for suicidal ideation using the BEI. These results suggest potential targets for interventions aimed at reducing and addressing suicidal ideation, which are crucial for its management and prevention.

Notably, our study showed that “search for meaning of life” was weakly and positively related to the “despair” dimension of suicidal ideation. These findings are in line with previous suggestions that the search for meaning of life either predicts an increase in suicidal ideation or is unrelated to it [71, 72]. In their study of suicidal crisis patients hospitalized by Besch et al., differences in survival reasons were noted, which were associated with suicidal ideation. This not only reaffirms the complex relationship between seeking meaning of life as a survival reason and suicidal ideation but also indicates that our study’s exploration at the dimensional level can potentially uncover more detailed relationships compared to previous research [73]. To the best of our knowledge, most previous studies utilizing multivariate modeling have explored the role of two facets of meaning of life—the presence of meaning of life and the search for meaning of life—in the emergence of suicidal ideation [74–77]. These studies encompassed both the general population and HIV-positive patients. Across these studies, there is a consistent finding: the presence of meaning of life demonstrates a protective effect against suicidal ideation. However, the findings were inconsistent regarding the role of the search for meaning of life. Specifically, the majority of these studies did not find a protective effect of the search for meaning of life on suicidal ideation [74, 76, 77], whereas a minority of studies reported that it may actually exacerbate suicidal ideation [75]. However, another study reported that the search for meaning of life predicted a decrease in suicidal ideation over time; i.e., the search for meaning of life could serve as a protective factor against less severe suicidal manifestations [78]. Thus, the relationship between the search for meaning of life and suicidal ideation is controversial, highlighting the need for additional research in the future.

In contrast to the prior finding, we found that “the presence of meaning of life” was strongly and negatively associated with the “despair” and “pessimism” dimensions of suicidal ideation. This is consistent with established research findings that the presence of meaning of life has a positive protective effect on the prevention of suicidal ideation and suicide [79, 80]. Similarly, a network analysis of the relationships between the dimensions of suicidal ideation and psychological pain and between suicidal ideation and meaning of life revealed that the presence of meaning of life was negatively associated with mental pain, despair, and pessimism [81]. In addition, prior research has shown that the presence of meaning of life moderates the effects of depression on suicidal ideation (based on a single holistic variable) [27, 82]. For example, Wolfe et al. demonstrated that despair was a predictor of suicidal ideation in 158 depressed adolescents and found that despair was positively associated with suicidal ideation [83]. Thus, for individuals who are confused about meaning of life (i.e., individuals who are anxious, depressed, and psychologically distressed), there is a high likelihood of experiencing despair and contemplating suicide [84, 85]. Furthermore, several studies have reported that creating meaningful moments in life can reduce despair and increase patients’ intention to live [33, 86]. Regarding the link between “presence of meaning of life” and “pessimism”, a cross-national study on meaning of life in patients with advanced cancer showed that the higher the score of meaning of life was, the better the optimism; i.e., the presence of meaning of life was positively correlated with optimism [87]. This finding is in line with our result of a negative relationship between presence of meaning of life and pessimism. Taken together, our finding suggests that when individuals perceive the existence of value and meaning of life, the sense of despair and pessimism in their suicidal ideation tendencies are significantly reduced. In other words, the existence of the meaning of life plays a buffering and protective role on the psychological level of individuals and can reduce suicidal ideation.

In addition, we found that “negative coping” was positively associated with the “despair”, “sleep”, and “pessimism” dimensions of suicidal ideation, which is consistent with previous findings [42, 44, 88]. Previous studies have reported that negative coping styles, specifically passive coping strategies such as avoidance, denial, or delusional responses employed in the face of stress or adversity, are relevant factors in understanding the relationship between life stress and suicidal behavior [89, 90]. For example, several cross-sectional studies of rural Chinese youth have reported that passive coping styles are significantly associated with suicidal ideation and that passive coping increases the risk of suicide among rural Chinese youth [88, 91]. Similarly, a cross-sectional study of victims of community violence suggested that the use of negative coping styles (i.e., hostility, pessimism, and detachment) was highly likely to increase the likelihood of suicidal ideation among suffering American college students; i.e., negative coping was a risk factor for increased suicidal ideation [92]. In contrast, in the present study, we found that “positive coping” was negatively associated with all three dimensions of suicidal ideation (despair, sleep, and pessimism). These results are consistent with previous findings that positive coping is a protective factor against suicidal ideation [42, 43, 93–95]. Several studies have also reported that suicidal ideation acts on the selection of individual coping styles and that groups with suicidal ideation are less likely to choose positive coping styles when dealing with negative events than are normal groups [79, 96]. Thus, this result suggests that coping styles play an important role in the development of suicidal ideation. Adopting positive coping styles can help prevent the development of suicidal ideation, while negative coping styles may exacerbate suicidal ideation. In light of this, fostering positive coping styles in individuals may be an effective intervention strategy in suicide prevention efforts. Future research could further explore the mechanisms by which different coping styles affect the dimensions of suicidal ideation, providing a theoretical basis for suicide prevention.

Interestingly, we also found strong associations between searching for meaning of life and between the presence of meaning of life and coping styles, consistent with the findings of previous research [39, 97]. Previous studies have shown that searching for meaning of life predicts negative coping, while the presence of meaning of life is negatively associated with negative coping and predicts positive coping [98–100]. Furthermore, the alignment of the various dimensions of reasons for living, as delineated in Besch et al.‘s study, with different coping modes strengthens the notion of a correlation between the dimensions of meaning of life and coping styles [73]. These dimensions can influence suicidal ideation through their direct or indirect pathways, suggesting that they are common factors contributing to suicidal thoughts. Consequently, this rationale justifies our decision to embed them within a community framework prior to conducting the network analysis.

Bridge nodes are critical for understanding how different factors related to coping strategies and individual psychological states interact and transmit negative or positive influences; thus, they are considered potential targets for prevention and intervention [58, 101, 102]. To further identify the most effective intervention targets, we calculated the BEI values for the network. Within the suicidal ideation community, S1 “pessimism” exhibited the highest BEI, suggesting that pessimism is the single most powerful predictor of suicidal ideation. Pessimism refers to individuals holding generalized negative outcome expectations about future events [103]. Studies have found pessimism to be strongly associated with depression, negativity, perceptions of failure, social detachment, and illness [104], and it is an important predictor of depression [105]. Additionally, it provides an important basis for screening individuals at risk for suicide [106–108]. Therefore, closely monitoring and reducing individuals’ pessimism are crucial for mitigating their suicidal ideation.

Similarly, within the meaning of life and coping styles community, M1 “presence of meaning of life” had the strongest positive BEI, while C2 “negative coping” had the strongest negative BEI. This suggests that the presence of meaning of life is the strongest protective factor against suicidal ideation, whereas negative coping is the strongest risk factor predicting suicidal ideation [107, 109]. These findings align with the results of previous studies [90, 109–111]. Thus, from a network perspective, treatments targeting M1 “presence of meaning of life” and C2 “negative coping” may be more effective in improving suicidal ideation than those targeting other aspects of the association. In other words, preventing negative coping and enhancing the presence of meaning of life may bolster the effectiveness of prevention and intervention strategies for suicidal ideation. These findings provide an important basis for clinical intervention. For example, Al-Halabí and Fonseca-Pedrero examined the common elements in effective psychotherapies for suicidal behavior and their implications for clinical practice [112]. Their research revealed that these shared components encompass the establishment of a strong therapeutic alliance, clear goal-setting, and the incorporation of diverse skill-training modules. Specifically, the therapeutic alliance functions as the foundation for patients to trust their therapists and actively participate in the treatment process. Clear goal-setting facilitates alignment between patients’ and therapists’ efforts in reducing suicidal ideation. Furthermore, skill-training modules, such as those focused on emotion regulation and problem-solving, can augment patients’ coping strategies.

Based on these insights and network analysis results, we can devise comprehensive intervention programs tailored to patients with strong suicidal ideation, negative coping styles, and a lack of a sense of meaning of life. To strengthen the therapeutic alliance, therapists can employ Socratic questioning in CBT to help patients identify and challenge pessimistic thought patterns, such as “I will always fail” or “There is no hope for the future,” by prompting them to recall past successful experiences [22]. Additionally, incorporating meaning-centered group therapies into the treatment plan is recommended to address the crucial aspect of “presence of meaning of life” [73]. In these groups, patients share their life stories, values, and purpose-giving experiences, fostering a supportive environment where they can rediscover or strengthen their sense of meaning. Furthermore, to address “negative coping,” skills-training modules from DBT should be implemented, teaching patients distress tolerance skills through mindfulness-based breathing exercises, enabling them to respond adaptively to stress rather than resorting to avoidance or denial [113]. Maintaining a focus on strengthening the therapeutic alliance, mitigating pessimistic thoughts, introducing meaning-centered group therapies, and continuously training patients in distress tolerance skills will collectively benefit in correcting negative coping styles.

Despite the innovative methodology, our research has certain limitations. Firstly, the cross - sectional design limits our ability to draw causal inferences. This limitation may lead to an inability to determine the exact causal direction between variables. For example, we cannot be certain whether negative coping leads to increased suicidal ideation or vice versa. Future longitudinal studies or experimental designs could be employed to establish causal relationships more accurately. By following participants over time or manipulating variables in a controlled environment, we can better understand the causal mechanisms at play. Secondly, the reliance on self - report data may introduce recall bias and subjective variability. This could cause inaccuracies in the data, as participants’ memories may be faulty or their subjective interpretations of questions may vary. To address this, future studies could consider using multiple data collection methods, such as physiological measures or observational data, to triangulate the results and increase the reliability of the findings. Furthermore, the network structure constructed in this study, tailored to a specific scale, does not encompass all relevant dimensions and should be considered a preliminary exploration. Future studies should employ a variety of scales to comprehensively investigate the relationships among meaning of life, coping styles, and suicidal ideation. Thirdly, while our findings highlight psychological pathways, we recognize that environmental determinants (e.g., socio-economic disparities, cultural norms, community support) are not fully incorporated into our analytical framework. Environmental factors form a multidimensional backdrop for the emergence and development of suicidal ideation, and their variability and influence cannot be ignored [114]. Though psychological variables are strongly associated with suicidal ideation, and interventions targeting them can effectively reduce risk, a comprehensive understanding of suicidal ideation requires considering the interplay between environmental and psychological factors. Numerous studies have shown robust associations between socioeconomic differences, cultural norms, community support, and suicide [115–117]. For instance, economic crises marked by recessions and rising unemployment are linked to increased suicide rates, especially among men and in countries with higher unemployment [115], cultural values, particularly individualistic ones, may raise suicide risk [116], and social support serves as a crucial protective factor [117]. Hence, future research should adopt a social-ecological perspective to examine how situational factors dynamically interact with individual-level variables to shape the trajectory of suicide risk, and we plan to conduct further studies to explore the multidimensional influence of situational factors on suicidal ideation and integrate these findings with psychological variables in a comprehensive analysis. Additionally, while the SIOSS scale demonstrated strong psychometric properties in our Chinese sample, its cultural specificity may limit cross-cultural comparisons. Future studies should validate the measurement invariance of the instrument across diverse populations to enhance its international generalizability. Lastly, the sample’s mean age is significantly younger than that of the general adult population, posing challenges to generalizability due to differences in psychological maturity and life experience [118]. Fonseca-Pedrero et al.‘s study provides insights into suicidal ideation, meaning-seeking, and coping strategies among young adults, emphasizing the importance of positive action in mitigating suicide risk [119]. This inspires further exploration of the role of positive action, coping adjustment, and meaning-seeking in reducing suicide risk among young adults, which will be a key direction for future research.

Conclusions

In this study, we conducted an in-depth examination of the relationships among meaning of life, coping styles, and suicidal ideation, employing network analysis within a holistic framework. Our findings unveiled specific psychopathological pathways interconnecting these dimensions, with negative coping emerging as the strongest risk factor for suicidal ideation, while the perception of life’s meaning served as the strongest protective factor. Additionally, pessimism was identified as a potential target for suicide prevention interventions. These insights are crucial in developing effective mental health interventions aimed at reducing suicide rates and promoting social stability and harmony. To this end, by fostering individuals’ perception of meaning of life and encouraging positive coping styles, we can enhance their psychological resilience, enabling them to better cope with academic and life stressors and thereby reducing suicidal ideation. Future research should delve deeper into the specific associations and trends of these variables across different age and occupational groups to provide a foundation for targeted suicidal ideation prevention and intervention strategies. In conclusion, while this study establishes a robust foundation for suicidal ideation prevention and intervention, continued exploration, including long-term follow-up studies, is essential to deepen our understanding of this intricate issue.

Abbreviations

C-MLQ

Chinese Meaning of life Questionnaire

SCSQ

Simplified Coping Style Questionnaire

SIOSS

Self rating Idea of Suicide Scale

LASSO

Least absolute shrinkage and selection operator

EBIC

Least absolute shrinkage and selection operator

BEI

Bridge expected influence

CS

Correlation stability

CBT

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

DBT

Dialectical Behavioral Therapy

Authors' contributions

Concept and design: Y.H, S.W and W.L; Acquisition of the data: Y.H, X.L and T.Y; Analysis and interpretation of the data: K.S and X.X; Drafting of the manuscript: Y.H; Writing-review & editing manuscript: Y.H, K.S, S.W and W.L. Supervision, resources, and project administration: X.L and S.W.

Funding

This study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 72374208).

Data availability

The datasets used and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

Declarations

Ethics approval and consent to participate

This study adhered to the ethical standards outlined in the Declaration of Helsinki. Participants provided informed consent before completing the questionnaire on the WeChat application and all methods were carried out in accordance with relevant guidelines and regulations. The study protocol was reviewed and approved by the Independent Ethics Committee of the First Affiliated Hospital of the Fourth Military Medical University (No. KY20224106-1).

Consent for publication

Not applicable.

Competing interests

The authors declare no competing interests.