Impact of army morale on suicidal ideation: The mediating role of grit and the moderating role of social support in a Chinese Navy population

ABSTRACT

This study constructed a moderated mediation model to examine whether increased army morale could reduce suicidal ideation. The mediating role of grit and the moderating role of social support were also examined. A total of 1029 male navy cadets in China were recruited to complete the survey. The measures used in the study included the Army Morale Scale, Grit Scale, Social Support Scale, and Self-rated Idea of Suicide Scale. The results indicated that: increased army morale could significantly reduce suicidal ideation; the impact of army morale on suicidal ideation could be partially mediated by grit; and social support moderated the impact of army morale on suicidal ideation. Specifically, relatively higher levels of social support could reduce suicidal ideation among individuals with lower levels of army morale, but the effect is not significant when the morale is at a high level. The study revealed that increased army morale could reduce suicidal ideation. Moreover, the mediating role of grit and the moderating role of social support were also revealed.

KEYWORDS:

• Army morale
• suicide ideation
• grit
• social support
• navy cadets

Data availability statement

The datasets analyzed for this study can be found in the Open Science Framework [https://osf.io/c9sxa/?view_only=33d091be0ffc4810821e50382391b4a8].

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

The current study did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.