Open Access

ARTICLE

Psychache and suicidal ideation among firefighters: The chain mediation effect of hopelessness and nostalgia

Wenqin Chen¹, Yuting Wen², Chen Hong³, Nan Ma⁴, Wenting Yi⁵, Guiliang Peng⁶, Yanyan Hu^7,*, Yang He^3,*

1 School of Education, Shanghai Normal University, Shanghai, 200234, China
2 School of Humanities/Department of College English Teaching, Hunan City University, Yiyang, 413000, China
3 School of Psychology, Shanghai Normal University, Shanghai, 200234, China
4 College of Information and Electronic Engineering, Hunan City University, Yiyang, 413000, China
5 Center for Mental Health Education, Hunan Software Vocational and Technical University, Xiangtan, 411100, China
6 Center for Mental Health Education and Counseling, Hunan Chemical Vocational Technology College, Zhuzhou, 412000, China
7 Department of Endocrinology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Naval Medical University, Shanghai, 200433, China

* Corresponding Authors: Yanyan Hu. Email: ; Yang He. Email:

Journal of Psychology in Africa 2025, 35(3), 419-427. https://doi.org/10.32604/jpa.2025.068039

Received 01 January 2025; Accepted 17 May 2025; Issue published 31 July 2025

Abstract

This study tested a chain mediation model on whether hopelessness and nostalgia play a mediating role in psychache and suicidal ideation of firefighters. A total of 652 firefighters participated in the survey (male = 94.94%; mean age = 23.71 years, SD = 4.18 years). The firefighters completed the Chinese Revised Psychache Scale (PAS), Beck Hopelessness Scale (BHS), Southampton Nostalgia Scale (SNS), and Columbia-Suicide Severity Rating Scale (C-SSRS). The path analysis results indicated that psychache positively predicted suicidal ideation. Hopelessness plays a significant mediating role between psychache and suicidal ideation further strengthening this relationship. In contrast, nostalgia mediates and weakened the relationship between psychache and suicidal ideation. Hopelessness and nostalgia jointly constructed a chain mediating effect between psychache and suicidal ideation, for higher suicidal ideation with higher hopelessness and lower nostalgia. The findings align with the Three-Step Theory of Suicide, which proposes that suicidal ideation results from the combination of pain and hopelessness and that connectedness is a key protective factor against escalating ideation. Therefore, interventions to reduce suicidal ideation in firefighters should aim to enhance their nostalgia, while reducing sense of hopelessness.

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Keywords

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