Loneliness, Emotional Fatigue, Social Dysfunction, and Suicide Risk in Ecuadorian University Students: A Mediation Analysis.

Abstract

Background: Suicidal risk in university students does not require analysis solely from clinical parameters; it is also necessary to understand it from the perspective of psychosocial factors and the everyday life situations to which the students are mostly exposed. Furthermore, it is a phenomenon with multiple causes, so studying it by integrating the complexity of various actors can help us understand not only direct dynamics but also indirect, multifaceted ones.

Objective: To estimate a sequential and latent multiple mediation model of emotional fatigue and social dysfunction in the relationship between loneliness and suicidal risk in Ecuadorian university students.

Design: A descriptive, cross-sectional, multiple mediation study using structural equation modelling (SEM). The sample comprised 943 undergraduate students (64.4% women, 35.6% men) from six universities (61.1% public) in four Ecuadorian cities, aged between 18 and 47 years (M = 21.62, SD = 3.81).

Results: Loneliness, emotional fatigue, and social dysfunction are latent predictors of suicidal risk, explaining 60% of its variance. Loneliness exerts both a direct effect on suicide risk and an indirect effect through the sequential multiple mediation of emotional fatigue and social dysfunction.

Conclusion: Academic risk factors such as loneliness, emotional fatigue, and social dysfunction are key attributes to consider for preventing suicidal behavior in university students. These predictors can dynamically interact to generate both direct and indirect effects, allowing for a better understanding of the complexity of this phenomenon.