The relationship between suicidal ideation and psychological distress in medical students: a descriptive-analytical...

Suicide remains a critical global health crisis that disproportionately targets young adults, and medical students consistently display higher prevalence rates than their non-medical peers. The main aim of this study was investigation of the mediating roles of three intrapersonal factors-perfectionism, difficulties in emotion regulation, and self-disgust-in the relationship between psychological distress and suicidal ideation within in medical students.

The present study utilized correlational research design with path analysis. A convenience sample of 404 medical students from Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences (KUMS), Iran was selected in the latter half of the 2024-2025 academic year. Data were collected using structured questionnaires, including the Psychological Distress Scale (PDS), Beck Scale for Suicidal Ideation (BSSI), Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS), Frost Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale (FROST-MPS), and Multidimensional Self-Disgust Scale (MSDS). SPSS software version 26 handled descriptive statistics and assumption checks, whereas Amos software performed the structural modeling.

The study found that psychological distress significantly predicted difficulties in emotion regulation (β = 0.370, P less than 0.001), perfectionism (β = 0.426, P less than 0.001), and self-disgust (β = 0.348, P less than 0.001). These variables mediated the relationship between psychological distress and suicidal ideation, with significant indirect effects through perfectionism (indirect effect = 0.094, p less than 0.001), difficulties in emotion regulation (indirect effect = 0.119, P less than 0.001), and self-disgust (indirect effect = 0.096, P less than 0.001). Among the total sample, 148 students (36.6%) were at high risk and 200 (49.5%) at very high risk of suicidal ideation.

There is a strong correlation between suicidal ideation and psychological distress among medical students. The findings highlight the roles of perfectionism, difficulties in emotion regulation, and self-disgust in this relationship. Universities should enhance mental health support and offer interventions targeting these factors to reduce suicide risk.