Unraveling the influence of offline and online social support on the connection between negative life events and suicidal ideation: a cross-sectional and gender-based examination among Chinese students amid the COVID-19 crisis

This study aimed to investigate whether offline and online social support mediate the relationship between negative life events (NLEs) and suicidal ideation among Chinese students during the COVID-19 pandemic, with a focus on gender differences. Using stratified sampling, 1,800 middle-high school and university students across China were surveyed. Structural equation modeling (SEM) with bias-corrected bootstrapping (5,000 samples) tested mediation effects, while multigroup SEM evaluated gender invariance. The Adolescent Self-Rating Life Events Checklist (ASLEC), Scale of Suicidal Ideation (SSI), and modified social support scales were administered. Offline social support significantly mediated NLEs’ impact on suicidal ideation: among males, for punishment (indirect effect = -0.007, 95% CI [-0.012, -0.003]) and adaptation (0.009, [0.004, 0.015]); among females, for learning pressure (0.008, [0.003, 0.013]), loss (0.013, [0.006, 0.021]), interpersonal relationships (0.024, [0.015, 0.034]), and adaptation (0.015, [0.008, 0.023]). Online social support showed no mediating effects for either gender. Multigroup SEM confirmed gender-invariant mediation structures (Δχ2 = 3.29, p = 0.17). Offline social support serves as a critical mediator of NLEs’ effects on suicidal ideation, with gender-specific pathways. Online support cannot substitute for tangible networks during crises. Findings emphasize the need for gender-tailored offline support interventions and longitudinal research to inform suicide prevention strategies.