Intolerance of Uncertainty Predicts Suicidal Ideation Among Adolescents Through Maladaptive Cognitive Emotion Regulation Strategies and Psychache

Introduction: As an important transdiagnostic factor, intolerance of uncertainty (IU) can predict suicidal ideation (SI). But little is known about the underlying mechanisms. The present study examined the chain mediating roles of three maladaptive cognitive emotion regulation (CER) strategies and psychache in the relation between IU and SI, as well as gender differences. Methods: A number of 1532 Chinese adolescents (43.1% males; baseline mean age = 15.00 years, SD = 1.57) completed self-report questionnaires on IU, self-blame, rumination, catastrophizing, psychache and SI for two waves, 6 months apart. Results: The results indicated that IU predicted SI through psychache and the serial mediation of the three maladaptive CER strategies and psychache, but IU did not predict SI through the three maladaptive CER strategies. The relation between IU and catastrophizing, the relation between catastrophizing and psychache, and the relation between psychache and SI were stronger among females than males. Conclusion: The results advance our understanding of how IU predicts SI, highlighting the importance of psychache in the development of SI.