Is ostracism deadly? The relationship between different types of ostracism and adolescent suicide

Abstract

Adolescent suicide is a significant global public health concern, and the widespread use of technology-mediated communication in daily life introduces new challenges for its prevention and intervention. This study employed both variable-centered and person-centered approaches to examine the associations between different forms of ostracism and adolescent suicide, based on a comprehensive ideation-to-action framework encompassing suicidal ideation, pre-suicide attempt, and suicide attempt. Structural equation modeling conducted on Chinese adolescents (N = 8981) revealed that only cyberpersonal space ostracism and real-world neglect were significantly associated with all three suicide-related outcomes. Building on these differential associations, a Latent Profile Analysis was conducted on a suicide-risk subsample (N = 2822), identifying three distinct risk profiles: high-risk (3.2 %), moderate-risk (17.0 %), and low-risk (79.8 %), with SI, PSA, and SA scores differing significantly across groups. Furthermore, cybersocial ostracism and offline neglect differentiated adolescents across risk profiles. Demographically, males, non-only children, and older adolescents were more likely to be categorized as low risk. These findings offer a new perspective on assessing and preventing adolescent suicide risk in the digital age, highlighting the critical role of ostracism in adolescent mental health.