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Article

Between Bond and Vulnerability: Relational and Emotional Factors Associated with Suicidal Ideation in Chilean University Students

by
Guadalupe Martín-Mora-Parra
1,*,
Jessica Morales-Sanhueza
2 and
Ismael Puig-Amores
1
1
Department of Psychology and Anthropology, University of Extremadura, 06071 Badajoz, Spain
2
Directorate of Humanistic and Christina Formation, General Directorate of Teaching, Catholic University of Temuco, Rudecindo Ortega, Temuco 2050, Chile
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Psychiatry Int. 2026, 7(2), 67; https://doi.org/10.3390/psychiatryint7020067
Submission received: 4 August 2025 / Revised: 23 December 2025 / Accepted: 28 February 2026 / Published: 20 March 2026
Versions Notes

Abstract

Suicidal behavior among adolescents and young adults represents a growing public health concern due to its high prevalence and its negative impact on psychological well-being. The aim of this study was to examine the associations between emotional regulation, attachment styles, cyberviolence, and suicidal ideation among Chilean university students. A descriptive cross-sectional design was employed with a sample of 1083 participants, using the Suicidal Ideation Frequency Inventory, the Close Relationship Experience Questionnaire (ECR-R), the Spanish Modified Version of the Trait Meta-Mood Scale (TMMS-24) and the Cyber Dating Violence Instrument for Teens (CyDAV-T). Bivariate analyses and binary logistic regression were conducted to identify significant predictors of suicidal ideation. The results revealed a high prevalence of suicidal ideation, particularly among women (19.06%; p < 0.001). Difficulties in emotion regulation were strongly associated with a higher likelihood of suicidal ideation (p < 0.001), whereas adequate (p < 0.001) or excellent (p < 0.01) regulation functioned as a significant protective factor. In addition, a disorganized attachment style was identified as a risk factor (p < 0.05), especially among women (p < 0.01). In conclusion, emotion regulation emerges as a key protective factor against suicidal ideation, underscoring the importance of implementing socioemotional training programs within university settings.

1. Introduction

Suicide is one of the leading causes of death in young people between 15 and 29 years of age, constituting a serious public health problem worldwide, and Chile is no exception [1]. According to studies by the CONVIVO foundation, the adolescent suicide rate in Chile increased by 31% between 2013 and 2022, a trend attributed to a combination of social, economic, cultural, and psychological factors [2].
The severity of the phenomenon has captured research interest, leading to the development of various explanatory models [3,4,5] aimed at improving understanding of suicidal behavior and designing effective prevention and intervention strategies. Among them, the ideation to action theory distinguishes two interrelated stages in the suicidal process: suicidal ideation and suicidal action [6,7]. From this perspective, the suicidal process (general desire to die) emerges from psychological pain and hopelessness, which often result from the interaction of multiple factors such as depression, anxiety, stressful situations and social disconnection. As the initial stage of suicidal behavior, suicidal ideation is considered one of the most relevant predictors [6,7]. Identifying its associated risk and protective factors is essential for improving our understanding of suicide and developing more effective prevention strategies in young people.
University students are one of the groups at higher risk of suicidal ideation compared to their non-university peers. This increased vulnerability is linked to the emotional and academic demands of emerging adulthood, as well as high levels of stress and pressure for achievement [8,9,10,11,12,13,14].
Among the key psychological factors associated with suicidal ideation, emotional regulation plays a central role. Emotional regulation refers to the ability to manage one’s own emotions through various strategies to cope adequately with stressful, new, or emotionally charged situations. Evidence suggests that adequate emotional regulation can help reduce anxiety and depressive symptoms, emotional distress, and the desire to die [15,16,17,18,19,20]. In contrast, individuals who experience difficulties in regulating emotions tend to have more troubles coping with stress, making them more likely to develop anxiety, depression, suicidal ideation, and other psychopathologies [21,22,23,24,25]. These findings are especially worrying given the high prevalence of difficulties in emotional regulation among university students [26,27].
Related to emotional regulation, attachment styles during early childhood also play a key role in mental health and vulnerability to suicidal ideation. Secure attachment, understood as the confidence of being worthy of love and care by a reference figure, emerges from early experiences with caregivers who are sensitive and responsive to the child’s emotional and physical needs [28,29]. By internalizing such positive relational experiences, securely attached individuals develop a sense of confident in themselves and trust in others, which helps them regulate emotions adaptively and face adversity more optimistically, reducing the risk of suicidal ideation [30,31,32,33].
On the contrary, adverse early attachment experience can lead to insecure attachments, characterized by high levels of anxiety (due to fear of rejection or abandonment), and/or avoidance (associated with discomfort with the closeness or dependence of others) [34]. These insecurities are linked to low self-esteem, pessimism, and hopelessness in life which in turn increase the risk of suicidal ideation and behavior [35,36,37].
Finally, dysfunctional intimate relationships, particularly those involving abuse, have also been associated with suicidal ideation. Several studies indicate that the most frequent type of intimate partner violence among young people is cyberviolence, which frequently occurs in a bidirectional way [25,38,39,40]. Cyberviolence refers to acts aimed at intimidating, harassing or controlling another person through the maladaptive use of technological media and/or social networks. This form of violence has been shown to have negative psychosocial consequences further increasing suicide risk among those who suffer from it [35,36,41,42].
In this regard, however, research has found sex related differences in these psychological and relational variables. Women tend to report greater difficulties in emotional regulation and higher levels of attachment-related anxiety than men [25,26,43,44]. These differences would be associated with women’s higher propensity towards rumination (repetitive and unwanted negative thoughts) which would make it difficult to adequately manage and control situations of stress or negative emotions, increasing the appearance of anxious and depressive symptoms [45,46,47]. Likewise, differences in attachment styles between men and women have been associated with both biological and sociocultural factors, with greater differences in Western than in Eastern countries [45,46,47]. In addition, personality traits and attachment-related differences may also partly explain the correlations found between attachment anxiety and suicidal ideation [28,34,35,36].
Despite these findings, there is little research that has jointly analyzed these psycho-emotional variables associated with suicidal ideation. This gap is particularly evident in the Chilean university population, where studies examining the predictive influence of factors such as emotional regulation, attachment styles, and cyberviolence especially in research considering sex differences within non-clinical samples remain scarce or non-existent.
In light of this gap and given the importance of these variables for young people’s mental health, this study aims to do the following:
(i) to analyze the prevalence of suicidal ideation, difficulties in emotional regulation, attachment styles and cyberviolence in young university students and, (ii) to analyze the influence of emotional regulation, attachment styles and cyberviolence on suicidal ideation in young university students, considering differences according to sex. Based on the objectives, the following hypotheses were raised:
H1. 
There is a high prevalence of emotional regulation difficulties, insecure attachment, cyberviolence and suicidal ideation in this sample of young university students, being higher in the case of women.
H2. 
A higher level of emotional regulation (adequate/excellent) is significantly associated with a lower risk of suicidal ideation. Likewise, insecure attachment styles and cyberviolence are expected to be associated with a higher risk of suicidal ideation in the young people who make up the sample.
H3. 
There are significant differences in the influence of emotional regulation, attachment styles and cyberviolence on suicidal ideation according to the sex of young people.

2. Materials and Methods

2.1. Participants

The sample (N = 1083) was composed of 703 women (64.9%) and 380 men (35.1%) aged between 16 and 29 years (M = 20.75, SD = 2.21).
Considering the objectives of the study, a non-probabilistic sampling was used for convenience, since the participants were chosen based on their accessibility and willingness to collaborate with the study. All participants are university students belonging to the Catholic University of Temuco (Chile).
All the subjects chosen were informed of the objectives of the study, as well as of the confidentiality of the data. Likewise, the voluntary nature of participation was ensured. In all cases, the researchers went to the selected classrooms to collect the data. The questionnaires were applied collectively in a single session and, although the researchers remained in the classrooms to clarify possible doubts, the students individually completed the instruments selected for the study.

2.2. Instruments

2.2.1. Suicidal Ideation Frequency Inventory [48]

This scale consists of 5 items with a 5-point Likert-type response format, which measures the frequency of suicidal thoughts in the last 12 months, with scores ranging from 1 (never) to 5 (almost every day). The total possible score ranges from 5 to 25, with higher scores indicating a higher frequency of suicidal ideation. In its Spanish adaptation, the FSII has demonstrated adequate psychometric properties, presenting a Cronbach’s alpha coefficient of 0.89 and an excellent internal consistency of 0.94, which reflects the high reliability of the instrument [48]. We dichotomized the variable to fit binary logistic regression as the intended analytical approach.

2.2.2. Questionnaire Experience of Close Relationships Scale (ECR-R) [49]

This questionnaire is a self-report instrument designed to assess attachment style in adulthood, based on two fundamental dimensions: anxiety and avoidance in affective relationships. This study used the Spanish version of the questionnaire, composed of 36 items distributed in seven-point Likert-type scales, where 1 indicates “strongly disagree” and 7 “strongly agree”.
Based on the scores obtained in both dimensions, the ECR-R allows people to be classified into one of four adult attachment styles: secure, avoidant, fearful, and disorganized. The validation of the Spanish version shows an internal reliability of Cronbach’s alpha 0.87 for the avoidance subscale and 0.85 for the anxiety subscale, indicating adequate internal consistency in both dimensions [49].

2.2.3. Spanish Modified Version of the Trait Meta-Mood Scale (TMMS-24) [50]

The TMMS-24 scale measures the skills with which we can be aware of our own emotions, as well as our ability to regulate them. The instrument consists of a total of 24 items distributed in three dimensions: Attention to Emotion, Emotional Clarity and Emotional Repair.
Responses are collected using a 5-point Likert scale, with scores ranging from 1 (not at all agree) to 5 (strongly agree). All three dimensions showed excellent internal consistency, with Cronbach’s alpha coefficients of 0.89 for Attention to Emotion, 0.90 for Emotional Clarity, and 0.88 for Emotional Repair. Considering the objectives of the study, only the Emotional Repair scale (8 items) has been used, as it is the TMMS-24 dimension that most directly operationalizes the ability to manage and modify emotional states. Furthermore, each dimension has independent psychometric properties, making its separate analysis methodologically appropriate [50].

2.2.4. Cyber Dating Violence Instrument for Teens (CyDAV-T)

Cyberviolence was measured with the Cyber Dating Violence Instrument for Teens (CyDAV-T). The instrument assesses violence in the context of adolescent romantic relationships through digital media, both from the perspective of aggression and victimization. It is composed of 19 items distributed in three dimensions: verbal/emotional violence, digital control and sexual violence. Each item is answered in a 5-point Likert format, with options ranging from 0 (never) to 4 (very often). Cyberviolence was analyzed as a continuous composite score, and no categorical transformation was applied. All three dimensions presented adequate levels of internal consistency in both versions of the instrument. In line with the original validation studies of the CyDAV-T, McDonald’s omega was used as the reliability index due to the multidimensional nature of the scale. On the aggression scale, omega coefficients were 0.78 for Verbal/Emotional Violence, 0.85 for Digital Control, and 0.75 for Sexual Violence. On the victimization scale, the coefficients were 0.73, 0.80, and 0.74, respectively. Therefore, in addition to its three-dimensional structure, the instrument has demonstrated construct validity and discriminative capacity of the items, which supports its use in research on cyberviolence [51].

2.3. Procedure

Before starting with data collection, the study, the objectives and the instruments selected for the research were examined and approved by the Bioethics and Biosafety Committee of the University of Extremadura (Spain) (Ref. 95/2023). After obtaining approval, the potential participants who had been selected using non-probabilistic sampling, used for convenience, considering the objectives set, were contacted to inform them of the objectives and ensure the anonymity, confidentiality and voluntary nature of the participation.
Once the informed consent of the university students who agreed to participate in the research was obtained, the researchers set a specific date and time to administer the selected instruments. These instruments were completed individually through computer or mobile phone. To do this, a QR code was distributed that gave access to a link on the Google Forms platform. This platform allows the storage and ordering of the collected data in a simple way, additionally facilitating the subsequent dump in the statistical analysis software (SPSS 21). The researchers remained in the classrooms to clarify possible doubts; however, the questionnaires were completed individually in the absence of any intervention. The instructions provided were the same in all classrooms.

2.4. Study Design

The study design is descriptive and cross-sectional. The dependent variable analyzed was suicidal ideation (classified as high and low). This categorical transformation of the continuous variable suicidal ideation was validated using slices in ±1 standard deviation with respect to the mean to identify low, medium, and high levels [52]. It was then transformed into the variable “high suicidal ideation”. Independent variables included the following: age, categorized into two ranges (16–21 years and 22–29 years); attachment style (secure, avoidant, disorganized, and anxious); emotional regulation (classified as excellent, adequate, or deficient); and cyberviolence experience (measured through three subtypes: controlling, verbal, and sexual).
During the first phase of analysis, the sample was divided into two groups according to suicidal ideation, using sex as a stratification variable. Likewise, for statistical analysis, all categorical variables were transformed into dummy variables to facilitate their inclusion in multivariate statistical models. The only continuous variable used in the study was the cyberviolence experienced, which was assessed using a composite score that reflects the degree of exposure to this type of violence.
The study design made it possible to compare the two groups defined by suicidal ideation in order to identify possible associations between this variable and attachment styles, levels of emotional regulation and the experience of cyberviolence. In particular, the differences between men and women in relation to these variables and their influence on suicidal ideation were examined. This approach allowed not only an exploration of bivariate relationships, but also allowed for control of the possible effects of interaction through multivariate analysis.

2.5. Data Analysis

Statistical analysis was performed using the statistical program SPSS (Statistical Package for the Social Sciences), version 26 (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY, USA).
Comparisons between dichotomous variables were made using Pearson’s Chi-square test and, when necessary, Fisher’s exact test was applied. Additionally, the effect size was calculated using Cramer’s V2. For nonparametric continuous variables, the Mann–Whitney U test was used to identify significant differences between groups.
In a first stage, descriptive analyses were applied to characterize the dichotomous variables included in the study, such as sex, age, suicidal ideation, emotional regulation, attachment style and the continuous variable experience of cyberviolence.
Subsequently, significant differences and possible associations between the aforementioned variables according to sex were explored.
In a third phase, an analysis of two-way contingency tables (cross-tabulations) was performed to study the relationship between the dependent variable (suicidal ideation is treated by sex) and the independent variables (age, emotional regulation, attachment style, and experience of cyberviolence). This procedure included the calculation of Pearson’s Chi-square statistic (X2) and Cramer’s V2 coefficient to determine the existence and strength of the association between categorical variables.
Finally, multivariate analyses were performed using binary logistic regression. This procedure allowed the identification of the most relevant predictors of suicidal ideation, considering only the statistically significant variables in the previous bivariate analyses. The results were expressed as Odds Ratios (OR), with their respective confidence intervals (CI = 95%).
Additionally, we examined assumptions regarding multicollinearity and independence of residuals. Correlations among predictors were low (r = −0.112 to 0.176), tolerance values ranged between 0.937 and 0.955, and VIF values between 1.047 and 1.067, indicating no multicollinearity. The Durbin–Watson statistic (1.936) suggested independence of residuals and absence of autocorrelation.

3. Results

3.1. Bivariate Descriptive Analysis by Sex

The analysis of results revealed that 15.4% of the young people who make up the sample stated that they had had suicidal ideation, and it was highlighted that women reported suicidal ideation in a greater proportion (+10.4%) than men (p < 0.001), this association being with respect to sex statistically significant. Likewise, it is observed that women presented significantly lower scores in the emotional repair dimension compared to men, indicating a higher prevalence of levels considered deficient in perceived emotional regulation. Specifically, within the “Excellent emotional regulation” category, only 7.9% of women reached this level, compared to 12.9% of men (p < 0.001). In addition, “Deficient” emotional regulation was more prevalent among women (56.1%) than among men (29.5%) (p < 0.001) (Table 1).
The analysis of attachment styles showed that attachments characterized by high levels of anxiety were associated with sex. Thus, the avoidant style was more frequent in men (p < 0.01), while the disorganized and anxious styles were significantly more frequent in women (p < 0.001; p < 0.01, respectively).
Finally, the analysis of the cyberviolence variable according to the participants’ self-reports showed no differences in terms of verbal violence experienced or the exercise of control behaviors over the partner. However, female college students reported significantly more experiences of sexual cyberviolence than men (p < 0.001).

3.2. Bivariate Analysis of Suicidal Ideation by Sex

The bivariate analysis is shown in Table 2.
In relation to attachment styles, significant differences were found between this factor and the sex of the participants. Specifically, secure attachment in women is linked to lower levels of suicidal ideation (p < 0.05). In addition, the avoidant and disorganized attachment styles are associated with suicidal ideation only in the case of women (p < 0.01; p < 0.001, respectively). Finally, no statistically significant differences were found between anxious attachment and suicidal ideation in any of the groups (p > 0.05). Thus, these results suggest that, for women, the attachment style developed during childhood would be a risk/protective factor with respect to suicidal ideation.

3.3. Binary Logistic Regression

Finally, Binary Logistic Regression was applied with the aim of knowing the relationship between the dichotomous dependent variable “suicidal ideation” and the explanatory dependent variables “difficulties in emotional regulation”, “attachment style” and “cyberviolence”. Likewise, in order to analyze in detail, the differences in terms of the sex of the participants, two models were obtained and are presented below.
Given the imbalance in the prevalence of suicidal ideation in the sample (approximately 15%), the overall accuracy of the model may require cautious interpretation. Although the three logistic regression models showed similar accuracy values (80–91.3%), sensitivity ranged from 15% to 19%, which may suggest a reduced ability to correctly identify participants with suicidal ideation. This pattern could be associated with a potential overestimation of overall accuracy driven by the majority class.

3.3.1. Multivariate Analysis of Suicidal Ideation in the Total Sample

The multivariate analysis allowed us to analyze the joint influence that the different factors considered in the study have on suicidal ideation. The resulting logistic regression model predicts this variable in young people aged 16 to 29 years significantly and with an appropriate fit to the data.
The model’s omnibus coefficient test was significant (p < 0.001), indicating that the set of included predictors significantly improved explanatory capacity compared to the null model. Nagelkerke’s R2 value was 0.191, suggesting that the model explains approximately 19.1% of the variance in suicidal ideation. Although this is a moderate proportion, it is relevant in the context of the analysis of complex psychosocial variables. Likewise, the Hosmer-Lemeshow test was not significant (p = 0.688), which demonstrates a good fit of the model to the observed data. In terms of overall classification accuracy, the model correctly classified 84.2% of cases.
In general, the protective factors against suicidal ideation identified in this study were having “adequate” or “excellent” emotional regulation. In contrast, “disorganized” attachment and exposure to “sexual cyberviolence” were associated with a significantly increased risk of suicidal ideation. On the other hand, men had a lower risk of suicidal ideation compared to women, although this difference did not reach statistical significance (Table 3).

3.3.2. Multivariate Analysis of the Sample of Women

The binary logistic regression model created for the sample of women showed an adequate fit and significant improvement over the null model. First, the omnibus test of the model coefficients was statistically significant (X2 = 81.71; df = 8; p < 0.001), indicating that the set of included predictors significantly improves the predictive capacity of the model. Second, Nagelkerke’s R2 value was 0.176, implying that the model explains approximately 17.6% of the variance in high suicidal ideation. This proportion suggests a moderate explanatory capacity, especially relevant in the context of complex psychosocial variables. Finally, the Hosmer-Lemeshow goodness of fit test was not significant (p = 0.827), indicating that the model fits appropriately to the observed data, with no evidence of overfit or poor fit.
The model (Table 4) points to the variable Adequate emotional regulation as the most solid and consistent predictor, associated with a reduction of more than 60% in the probability of suicidal ideation. Its protective effect was maintained even when controlling for other variables, which reinforces its clinical and preventive relevance. On the other hand, disorganized attachment was confirmed as a significant risk factor in both bivariate and multivariate analyses. Its presence doubled the probability of suicidal ideation, a fact that positions it as a variable of special interest in the psychosocial approach to suicide risk. Finally, sexual cyberviolence emerged as an emerging risk factor, statistically significant only in the multivariate model, suggesting that this type of victimization has an independent impact, beyond the effect of other emotional and relational variables.
It is important to note that, in the female subsample, the “excellent emotional regulation” category could not be interpreted, as its extreme coefficient and p ≈ 0.1 indicated a possible problem of complete separation due to its low frequency. This was because none of the women in the sample with excellent emotional regulation reported having suicidal thoughts.

3.3.3. Multivariate Analysis of the Sample of Men

The logistic regression model to predict suicidal ideation in the male sample (Table 5) showed an adequate overall fit and significant improvement over the null model. The Chi-Square test for the Omnibus test was significant (X2 = 30.021; p < 0.001), indicating that the set of included predictors significantly improves the explanatory capacity of the model compared to a model without predictors. In terms of explained variance, the Cox and Snell (R2 = 0.076) and Nagelkerke (R2 = 0.170) coefficients suggest that the model explains between 7.6% and 17% of the variability in suicidal ideation, representing a modest but statistically significant contribution. The Hosmer-Lemeshow goodness-of-fit test was not significant (X2 = 4.997; p = 0.758), indicating that the model fits appropriately to the observed data, with no evidence of specification errors. Finally, the overall accuracy of the classification was 91.3%. However, it is important to note that this high accuracy is mainly due to the correct classification of cases without suicidal ideation, as the model does not effectively predict cases with high suicidal ideation.
The binary logistic analysis in the sample of men identified the variable Emotional Regulation ”Excellent” (91.5%; OR = 0.085), and “Adequate” (81.9%; OR = 0.181) as a protective factor that reduces the probability of suicidal ideation.
On the other hand, Attachment Styles and Cyberviolence experienced did not show statistically significant effects in this model. However, Secure Attachment showed a protective tendency (OR = 0.403), although it did not reach the threshold of statistical significance. Finally, the different types of cyberviolence analyzed (verbal/emotional, controlling and sexual) did not explain suicidal ideation in the case of men.

4. Discussion

The first relevant finding of this study is the high prevalence of suicidal ideation among the young university students in the sample. This result confirms the first research hypothesis and underscores the vulnerability of the youth population to mental health problems compared to the general population. Although previous research has linked this situation mainly to academic stress and the emotional demands characteristic of the emerging adult stage [7,8,9,10,11], our results also highlight the relevance of personal, family and relational factors, in the genesis of this phenomenon [2,53,54,55].
Significant sex differences were observed, with women reporting higher rates of suicidal ideation than men. This difference may be explained by distinct emotional and relational patterns, including emotional regulation skills, attachment styles, and experiences of cyberviolence [8,18,19,20,24].
Regarding emotional regulation, women in this study reported greater difficulties managing their emotions, consistent with previous evidence indicating higher prevalence of emotional dysregulation among women [25,26,43,56]. Although traditional approaches have suggested that women possess greater emotional expressiveness and a wider range of regulation strategies [57,58], the present results suggest that the quantity of strategies used does not necessarily reflect effectiveness. Indeed, variables such as rumination (more frequent among women) may contribute to the use of maladaptive strategies [56,57], which in turn have been linked to suicidal ideation [46,59,60,61] in the women who make up the sample.
Another important finding of the study was the high prevalence of insecure attachment styles among university students, particularly women, who more frequently exhibited anxious and/or avoidant patterns, compared to men. These results are similar to previous studies and can be interpreted in the light of gender socialization processes that promote emotional expressiveness and dependance in women, and self-sufficiency in men [25,26,47,62].
Thus, women from childhood are instilled with the importance of prioritizing emotional bonds, expressing their emotions and seeking approval in their interactions with others. In this way, greater sensitivity to signs of rejection or abandonment, characteristics linked to anxious attachment, may be favored. On the other hand, men could learn to suppress or minimize their emotions and avoid emotional dependence. In fact, the expression of affective needs in the male gender has traditionally been perceived as a sign of weakness, leading to the development of avoidant bonding strategies. Therefore, these differences could be associated with cross-cultural and evolutionary aspects, especially in Western countries [63,64].
In relation to cyberviolence, significant sex differences were found, particularly in sexual cyberviolence, which emerge as an independent risk factor for suicidal ideation. Women revealed a greater perception of sexual victimization, possibly reflecting greater awareness and sensitivity toward these behaviors. This greater awareness may allow the young women in the sample to make a more accurate assessment of their victimisation. In addition, the high perception of severity they manifest in relation to sexual abuse may act as a protective factor that prevents them from exercising these behaviors towards their partners [65,66,67].
Conversely, the higher perpetration rates among men may relate to persistent cultural norms that equate masculinity with greater desire and sexual activity in which a more aggressive and dominant attitude is positively valued. In addition, there may be greater acceptance and normalization of sexual aggression towards their partners by their peers [68]. In this sense, society itself may contribute to the suffering of sexual violence in the exercise of a benevolent sexism [69,70].
Regarding verbal cyberviolence and abusive control behaviors, no significant differences were found between men and women. Therefore, two-way violence seems to be the predominant one in young couples, with it being relatively common for both partners to assume a dual role as aggressors and victims [25,26]. In this regard, it has been pointed out that there is a correlation between perpetration and victimization, with the main cause for becoming an aggressor being previously a victim of these behaviors [71].
Likewise, the normalization of violence could be related, in the case of women, to the interpretation they make of the control exercised by their partners as a manifestation of concern, affection or love towards them. For their part, men could use violence to reaffirm their dominant position in the relationship. This position, typical of hostile sexism, would also be responsible for a lower perception of victimization in their case, given that traditional stereotypes of gender violence point to intimate partner violence as that exercised unilaterally by men [69,70,71,72,73,74].
Emotional regulation difficulties were found to be a strong cross-sectional predictor of suicidal ideation [74,75]. The difficulty in effectively applying emotional regulation strategies can lead individual to perceive suicidal thoughts as a means of escaping distressing or overwhelming experiences [75,76].
Conversely, adequate emotional regulation acted as the strongest protective predictor, associated with a reduction of more than 60% in the probability of suicidal ideation in women and 81.9% in men. These findings underscore the importance of promoting optimal emotional regulation skills to prevent maladaptive emotional reactions, and suicidal thinking [18,19,20]. Interestingly, among women, suicidal ideation was also observed in participants with excellent emotional regulation skills. This could suggest the influence of other mediating factors [77], for example, insecure attachment, that diminish the expected protective effect of these skills.
In relation to attachment, associations were also found between secure attachment and less suicidal ideation throughout the sample, especially among women. In this regard, it has also been pointed out that the importance of secure attachment as a protective factor could be associated with internal operating models. Thus, for example, people with secure attachment, by having a positive view of themselves, would have greater confidence in their ability to face different physical or psychological threats. In addition, a positive view of others gives them the security of feeling worthy of care from an attachment figure, who will be available and willing to provide support when they need it. This perception favors better coping with psychological discomfort, protecting them from suicidal thoughts [29,30,31].
Unexpectedly, anxious attachment in women was not associated with suicidal ideation. The literature on this subject presents contradictory conclusions. Thus, although several studies have linked anxious attachment with suicidal ideation [31,45], others have not been able to verify this relationship [28,78]. One plausible explanation is that an individual with anxious attachment may actively seek support and emotional proximity, which facilitates access to social and affective resources that prevent suicidal risk [29,30,31]. Additionally, the results could be linked to contextual factors specific to the sample. Specifically, as they are university students, they could count on the support of their study center. In this sense, the Catholic University of Temuco has a Mental Health Board in charge of coordinating various actions for the prevention and promotion of student mental health. Likewise, the Directorate of Humanistic and Christian Formation teaches courses for the “Development of Socio-emotional Competencies and Personal Development”, initiatives that could be positively impacting greater emotional validation of students, thus contributing to reducing the presence of suicidal thoughts.
Overall, these findings reveal the high prevalence of suicidal ideation, emotional regulation difficulties, and insecure attachment styles among university students, especially in women. They also identify sexual cyberviolence as an emerging risk factor for mental health. These findings should guide actions aimed at prevention and health promotion in this risk group. From a preventive perspective, these results highlight the importance of strengthening emotional regulation and secure attachment from early developmental stages, as well as raising awareness about the psychological impact of cyberviolence. Promoting these competencies through university programs may contribute to the prevention of suicidal ideation among young people.

5. Conclusions

Considering that young university students are one of the populations with the highest risk of suicidal ideation, due to their exposure to multiple sources of stress and high emotional demand, one of the main contributions of this research was the identification of psycho-emotional factors closely linked to suicidal ideation in the sample studied. First, and in line with the scientific literature, a higher prevalence of suicidal ideation was observed in women, suggesting a greater vulnerability of this group compared to men. Secondly, low emotional regulation was positioned as the factor most strongly associated with high levels of suicidal ideation, both in men and women. Conversely, possessing adequate or excellent emotional regulation was associated with a lower likelihood of experiencing suicidal ideation, acting as a significant protective factor. Third, the disorganized attachment style, especially prevalent in women, emerged as an important risk factor. Likewise, secure and avoidant attachment styles showed weaker and differentiated effects according to sex: the results indicated that secure attachment is associated with a lower propensity to suicidal ideation, particularly in women, functioning as a mild protective factor, while avoidant attachment could imply some risk in this same group. Finally, the age variable did not show a significant influence on suicidal ideation, which indicates that, in this specific sample, it does not constitute a relevant differentiating factor.
The findings of this study provide clear guidelines for the design of preventive and mental health intervention strategies for young people. Training in emotional regulation should be a priority in school and university settings, given its protective effect against suicidal ideation. On the other hand, promoting skills to identify, understand and manage emotions can strengthen personal resources in situations of vulnerability.
Finally, it is essential to identify disorganized attachment patterns early in the context of psychological care, especially during adolescence and early adulthood. In this sense, in clinical practice, identifying dysfunctional emotional patterns allows the design of preventive interventions in relational processes that can increase the risk of suicide. Sexual cyberviolence should be addressed as a specific mental health risk, with special attention to young women, a group in which this form of victimization can have a significant and independent impact on suicidal ideation. This involves both clinical interventions and awareness-raising initiatives and digital regulation. The implementation of psychoeducational programs aimed at the development of healthy relationships and emotional self-efficacy could contribute to significantly reducing several of the identified risk factors, while promoting emotional well-being and resilience in adverse situations.

6. Limitations

This research has some limitations that should be taken into account. As it is a cross-sectional study, it is not possible to infer causality in it. Therefore, longitudinal research could provide a complementary view to our findings.
Furthermore, although the models showed acceptable fit, the variance explained was moderate (R2 ≈ 0.17), suggesting the influence of other risk factors not considered in the study. In addition, the small number of men with suicidal ideation (n = 33) may have resulted in less stable estimates and limited the statistical power for the analysis by sex, hindering the possibility of developing more robust alternative models.
Likewise, the potential instability of the categorical predictors used in the logistic regression models is acknowledged, as well as the lack of control for possible confounding variables for example, depressive symptoms that could have influenced the results obtained. In addition, the possible instability of the regression coefficients derived from the sample characteristics is noted. These aspects are explicitly recognized as methodological limitations of the study and represent areas for improvement in future research.
Additionally, when interpreting the results and implications of the study, it is important to consider that the sample only included university students, so the results may not be representative of all young people. Consequently, it is recommended to expand the scope of the research, by conducting studies that include samples of non-university students, as well as children and adults.

Author Contributions

G.M.-M.-P., J.M.-S. and I.P.-A. contributed to the design, writing, and supervision of the article. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

Funding

This research received no external funding.

Institutional Review Board Statement

The study was conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki and approved by the Bioethics and Biosafety Committee of the University of Extremadura (Spain) (Approval code: Ref. 95/2023; Approval Date: 15 June 2023).

Informed Consent Statement

Informed consent was obtained from all subjects involved in the study.

Data Availability Statement

The data presented in this study are available on request from the corresponding author due to ethical approval requirements.

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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Table 1. Bivariate analysis results by sex.
Table 1. Bivariate analysis results by sex.
VariablesSexχ2p-Value
Men (N = 380)Women (N = 703)
FrequencyPercentageFrequencyPercentage
Age16–212670.7046065.542.6070.106
22–291130.3024334.56
Suicidal IdeationNo347 569 20.3660.000 *
Yes338.6813419.06
Emotional Regulation
ExcellentNo331 673 27.0490.000 ***
Yes4912.89304.27
AdequateNo161 424 31.9780.000 ***
Yes21957.6327939.68
DeficientNo268 309 69.9660.000 ***
Yes11229.4739456.04
Attachment
SecureNo230 463 3.0430.081
Yes15039.4724034.13
AvoidantNo230 485 7.8770.005 *
Yes15039.4721831.00
DisorganizedNo342 578 11.6800.001 **
Yes3810.0012517.78
AnxiousNo338 583 7.0200.008 *
Yes4211.0512017.07
VariablesMeandtMeandtU-Mann–Whitneyp-value
Verbal 1.6 1.8 125.7070.87
Control 2.2 2.4 129.7800.409
Sexual 0.41.40.92.1118.7770.000 ***
Confidence interval (CI) = 95%. *** Significance p < 0.001. ** Significance p < 0.01. * Significance p < 0.05.
Table 2. Bivariate analysis.
Table 2. Bivariate analysis.
Variables Sex
MenWomenTotal
X2pV2p X2pV2p X2pV2p
Suicidal Ideation NoYes NoYes NoYes
Age16–21243240.1050.7460.0170.756374860.1150.7340.0130.7346171100.1420.7060.0110.706
22–2910491954829957
Excellent ERNo299323.130.0770.0910.0775391347.380.007 **0.1020.007 *83816613.090.000 *0.1100.007 **
Yes481300781
Adequate ERNo1372413.640.000 ***0.1890.000 ***31810624.420.000 *0.1860.000 *45513045.130.000 *0.2040.000 *
Yes21092512846137
Deficient ERNo2581028.120.000 ***0.2720.000 ***2812835.730.000 *0.2250.000 *5393873.90.000 *0.2610.000 *
Yes8923288106377129
Secure attachmentNo205253.510.0610.0960.061365983.900.048 *0.0740.048 *5701238.000.005 **0.0860.005 **
Yes14282043634644
Avoidant attachmentNo210200.0000.9920.0010.9923801056.790.009 **0.0980.009 **5901256.860.009 **0.0800.009 **
Yes137131892932642
Disorganized attachmentNo315272.690.1010.0840.1014908831.010.000 *0.2100.000 *80511531.970.000 *0.1920.000 *
Yes326794611152
Anxious attachmentNo311271.870.1720.0700.1724721110.0010.9740.0010.9747831380.8990.3430.0290.343
Yes366972313329
Confidence interval (CI) = 95%.*** Significance p < 0.001. ** Significance p < 0.01. * Significance p < 0.05. Significant differences between low emotional regulation and suicidal ideation in all the groups analyzed (p < 0.001), presenting moderate effect sizes (V2 = 0.272 in men; V2 = 0.225 in women; V2 = 0.261 in the total sample). Likewise, it was observed that “excellent” emotional regulation was also significantly associated with suicidal ideation, although this result was only present in the group of women (p < 0.01).
Table 3. Logistic regressions result by sex.
Table 3. Logistic regressions result by sex.
VariableBSig.Exp (B)IC 95%
Sex (men = 1)−0.4150.0600.6600.4281.018
Excellent E.R.−2.9550.004 **0.0520.0070.382
Adequate E.R.−1.2600.000 ***0.2840.1890.425
Secure attachment−0.2580.3490.7730.4511.325
Avoidant attachment−0.4390.1130.6450.3741.110
Disorganized attachment0.6830.015 *1.9801.1443.427
Verbal/Emotional Cyberviolence0.0680.1221.0700.9821.166
Control Cyberviolence−0.0380.2080.9620.9061.022
Sexual Cyberviolence0.1050.033 *1.1101.0091.222
Confidence interval (CI) = 95%. *** Significance p < 0.001. ** Significance p < 0.01. * Significance p < 0.05.
Table 4. Logistic regression results in the female sample.
Table 4. Logistic regression results in the female sample.
VariableBSig.Exp (B)IC 95%
Excellent emotional regulation−20.0880.9980.0000.000
Adequate emotional regulation−1.1020.0000.3320.2100.527
Secure attachment−0.0950.7570.9090.4971.662
Avoidant attachment−0.5100.1130.6000.3201.128
Disorganized attachment0.7960.0102.2171.2054.079
Verbal cyberviolence0.0840.1071.0870.9821.204
Control cyberviolence−0.0490.1580.9520.8891.019
Sexual cyberviolence0.1200.0311.1271.0111.257
Table 5. Logistic regression results in the male sample.
Table 5. Logistic regression results in the male sample.
VariableBSig.Exp (B)IC 95%
Excellent emotional regulation−2.4640.018 *0.0850.0110.658
Adequate emotional regulation−1.7110.000 *0.1810.079 0.411
Secure attachment−0.9080.1400.4030.121 1.346
Avoidant attachment−0.5210.3570.5940.196 1.799
Disorganized attachment0.0170.9801.0170.2723.802
Verbal-emotional cyberviolence suffered0.0030.9741.0030.847 1.188
Control cyberviolence suffered0.0060.9291.0060.8861.142
Sexual cyberviolence suffered0.0480.6781.0500.836 1.318
* Significance p < 0.05.
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Martín-Mora-Parra, G.; Morales-Sanhueza, J.; Puig-Amores, I. Between Bond and Vulnerability: Relational and Emotional Factors Associated with Suicidal Ideation in Chilean University Students. Psychiatry Int. 2026, 7, 67. https://doi.org/10.3390/psychiatryint7020067

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Martín-Mora-Parra G, Morales-Sanhueza J, Puig-Amores I. Between Bond and Vulnerability: Relational and Emotional Factors Associated with Suicidal Ideation in Chilean University Students. Psychiatry International. 2026; 7(2):67. https://doi.org/10.3390/psychiatryint7020067

Chicago/Turabian Style

Martín-Mora-Parra, Guadalupe, Jessica Morales-Sanhueza, and Ismael Puig-Amores. 2026. "Between Bond and Vulnerability: Relational and Emotional Factors Associated with Suicidal Ideation in Chilean University Students" Psychiatry International 7, no. 2: 67. https://doi.org/10.3390/psychiatryint7020067

APA Style

Martín-Mora-Parra, G., Morales-Sanhueza, J., & Puig-Amores, I. (2026). Between Bond and Vulnerability: Relational and Emotional Factors Associated with Suicidal Ideation in Chilean University Students. Psychiatry International, 7(2), 67. https://doi.org/10.3390/psychiatryint7020067

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