Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jan 27, 2026

Functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy Hyperscanning Study in Psychological Counseling
Published on: January 17, 2025
General Psychological Distress and Suicidality: The Roles of Family Functioning, Perceived Burdensomeness, and
Fangsong Liu1,2, Li Zhou3, Zhengjia Ren4
1School of Psychology, Jiangxi Normal University, Nanchang, China.
Abstract:
The current study aims to examine whether family functioning would moderate the indirect effect of general psychological distress on suicidality through perceived burdensomeness (PB) and thwarted belongingness (TB). A total of 552 Chinese university students (69% female; age: M = 20.95, SD = 1.15) participated in this two-wave longitudinal study conducted from October 2023 to April 2024. Structural equation modeling analyses were conducted to examine the hypothesized models. After controlling for initial suicidality and gender, initial general psychological distress was positively associated with suicidality 6 months later. PB at Time 2 fully mediated the adverse impact of general psychological distress at Time 1 on suicidality at Time 2. In addition, family functioning at Time 1 was found to mitigate the effect of general psychological distress at Time 1 on PB at Time 2, and alleviate the indirect effect of general psychological distress at Time 1 on suicidality at Time 2 through PB at Time 2. PB emerges as a key mechanism underlying the detrimental effects of general psychological distress on suicidality. Moreover, family functioning plays a significant role in alleviating the negative impact of general psychological distress on suicidality through PB. These findings imply that mental health professionals working with university students should seek to reduce perceived burdensomeness and improve family functioning to mitigate the effect of general psychological distress on suicidality.
Related Concept Videos
Gene Families
Occasionally these regions can be adapted to take on new roles within the organism, becoming novel genes...
Gene Families
Protein Families
Protein Families
Perceiving Loudness, Pitch, and Location
Place theory, or place coding, suggests that different pitches are heard because various sound waves activate specific locations along the cochlea's basilar membrane. The brain determines the pitch of a sound by...
Family Therapy
Strategic Family Therapy
Strategic family therapy emphasizes resolving communication barriers and improving problem-solving abilities...

