@Article{ijmhp.2025.066297,
AUTHOR = {Xiao Hu, Biao Li, Jun Qin},
TITLE = {Negotiable Fate Belief and Suicidal Ideation among Left-Behind Children: The Mediating Role of Coping Self-Efficacy and Gender Differences},
JOURNAL = {International Journal of Mental Health Promotion},
VOLUME = {27},
YEAR = {2025},
NUMBER = {8},
PAGES = {1203--1220},
URL = {http://www.techscience.com/IJMHP/v27n8/63695},
ISSN = {2049-8543},
ABSTRACT = { <b>Objectives:</b> Suicidal ideation is a strong predictor of suicide deaths, which refers to the consideration or desire to give up one’s own life. Left-behind children in rural China are more vulnerable to psychological problems and suicidal ideation compared to their non-left-behind peers. The aim of the current study was to examine two potential protective factors, negotiable fate belief and coping self-efficacy, and to test the mediating role of coping self-efficacy in the relationship between negotiable fate belief and suicidal ideation. We also analyzed gender differences in this mediation model. <b>Methods:</b> A cross-sectional survey was conducted in rural areas of China. A sample of 526 left-behind children (285 males, 54.18%; 241 females, 45.82%; <i>Mean</i><sub><i>age</i></sub> = 13.29 years, <i>SD</i> = 0.97 years) was recruited to complete the Negotiable Fate Belief Scale, Coping Self-Efficacy Scale, and the Positive and Negative Suicide Ideation Inventory-Negative Scale. We used structural equation modeling to test the mediation model and multigroup analysis to test the moderation effect of gender. <b>Results:</b> Negotiable fate belief is negatively correlated with suicidal ideation (<i>r</i> = −0.13, <i>p</i> < 0.01). Moreover, coping self-efficacy mediates the relationship between negotiable fate belief and suicidal ideation (<i>β</i> = −0.06, 95% confidence interval (CI) [−0.12, −0.02]), accounting for 35.29% of the total effect. Finally, the mediating effect of coping self-efficacy was found to be significant only for female left-behind children (male: 95% CI [−0.09, 0.07]; female: 95% CI [−0.16, −0.01]). For female left-behind children, the mediating effect was complete, with a coefficient of −0.06, accounting for 85.71% of the total effect. <b>Conclusions:</b> The relationship between negotiable fate belief and suicidal ideation among rural left-behind children is mediated by coping self-efficacy, and this mediation effect was moderated by gender. This study provides a theoretical explanation for how cultivating the belief in negotiable fate and coping self-efficacy is effective for reducing suicidal ideation of rural left-behind children.},
DOI = {10.32604/ijmhp.2025.066297}
}