Psychological Development and Education ›› 2013, Vol. 29 ›› Issue (5): 541-551.

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School Climate and Adolescents’ Suicidal Ideation and Suicide Attempts：The Mediating Role of Self-Esteem

YANG Xue1,2, WANG Yan-hui3, LI Dong-ping1,2, ZHAO Li-yan4, BAO Zhen-zhou5, ZHOU Zong-kui1,2   

  1. 1. Key Laboratory of Adolescent Cyberpsychology and Behavior (CCNU), Ministry of Education, Wuhan 430079;
    2. School of Psychology, Central China Normal University, Wuhan 430079;
    3. School of Education Science, Jiaying University, Meizhou 514015;
    4. Department of Psychology, Arts and Sciences College of Sichuan Normal University, Chengdu 610101;
    5. School of Psychology, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510631
  • Online:2013-09-15 Published:2013-09-15

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Abstract: Although quite a few adolescents committed suicide in school settings, few studies have examined whether school climate was associated with adolescent suicide as well as the mediating mechanisms underlying this association. The present study examined the relationship between different dimensions of school climate (i.e., teacher-student support, student-student support, and opportunities for autonomy in the school) and adolescents' suicidal ideation and attempts as well as the mediating role of self-esteem underlying these associations. With stratified-cluster sampling method, 2,758 middle school students completed questionnaire measures of school climate, self-esteem, suicidal ideation and attempts, as well as covariates (e.g., family functioning). The results revealed that: (1) After controlling for gender, age, socioeconomic status, family functioning, and neighborhood problems, teacher-student support and student-student support were significantly and negatively associated with adolescents' suicidal ideation and suicide attempts, whereas the effect of opportunities for autonomy in the school was not significant; (2) Self-esteem mediated the relationship between teacher-student support and student-student support, and adolescents' suicidal ideation and suicide attempts. Therefore, school climate shapes adolescents' self-system beliefs, which in turn impact their suicidal ideation and suicide attempts.

Key words: school climate, suicidal ideation, suicide attempts, self-esteem, self-system beliefs model

CLC Number: 

  • B844.2
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