Lijie Ren,1 Ye Chen,2 Xianguo Han,3 Ziyi Chen,2 Zhi Wang,4 Wenxiao Li,2 Hongyuan Chen2 

1Mental Health Center, Shanghai Customs University, Shanghai, People’s Republic of China; 2School of Customs and Public Administration, Shanghai Customs University, Shanghai, People’s Republic of China; 3School of Psychology, Shanghai Normal University, Shanghai, People’s Republic of China; 4School of Customs and Public Economics, Shanghai Customs University, Shanghai, People’s Republic of China

Correspondence: Xianguo Han, School of Psychology, Shanghai Normal University, 100 Guilin Street, Xuhui District, Shanghai, 200234, People’s Republic of China, Email hanxg.psy@aliyun.com

Background: Suicide is a global public health issue. This study examined the role of COVID-19 burnout and reappraisal in suicidal ideation caused by depressive symptoms among Chinese college students.
Methods: 587 students (261 boys, Mage = 19.53, SD = 1.42) were assessed using the Short Depression-Happiness Scale (SDHS), Positive and Negative Suicide Ideation (PANSI) inventory, and Emotion Regulation Scale (ERS).
Results: Correlation analysis indicated depressive symptoms were negatively correlated with reappraisal and positively correlated with suicidal ideation and COVID-19 burnout. Reappraisal was negatively correlated with suicidal ideation and COVID-19 burnout. The moderated mediation model showed COVID-19 burnout enhanced the direct effect of depressive symptoms on suicidal ideation and indirectly enhanced this effect by weakening the protective role of reappraisal.
Conclusion: These finding show that reappraisal acts as a protective factor against suicidal ideation in individuals with depressive symptoms, while COVID-19 burnout exacerbates this effect by weakening reappraisal’s protective role.

Keywords: depressive symptoms, suicidal ideation, reappraisal, COVID-19 burnout, moderated mediation model