Interparental Conflict and Chinese Adolescents’ Suicide Ideation and Suicide attempts: The Mediating Role of Peer Victimization

Suicide is one of the important public health concerns among adolescents. Previous research has demonstrated that family discord plays important roles in adolescent suicidality. However, little is known about the associations between interparental conflict and adolescent suicide ideation and suicide attempts, as well as the mediating mechanisms underlying these associations. The purpose of the present study was to examine the relationships between interparental conflict and Chinese adolescents’ suicide ideation and suicide attempts, as well as the mediating role of peer victimization underlying these relations. A total of 2758 middle school students (M _age = 13.53 years; 46% males) from 10 middle schools in southern China participated in this study. They completed anonymous questionnaires regarding interparental conflict, peer victimization, and suicide ideation and suicide attempts. The results indicated that after controlling for demographic variables, interparental conflict positively predicted both suicide ideation and suicide attempts. Additionally, peer victimization partially mediated the relations between interparental conflict and suicide ideation and suicide attempts. Finally, although the direct and indirect effects of interparental conflict on suicide ideation and suicide attempts were found for both boys and girls, there were interaction effects for gender. We discuss the theoretical and practical implications of these findings.