Uncovering the mechanism linking education expectation and suicide ideation among students in tertiary education: The mediating role of academic burnout, psychache, and hopelessness

PLOS One | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0337831 December 18, 2025 8 / 16 CI [−.039,.040]), Group 2 (β = −.018, 95% percentile CI [−.066,.022]), and Group 3 (β = −.010, 95% percentile CI [−.055,.030]). There was a significant full mediating effect of psychache for Group 1 (β = .260, 95% percentile CI [.162,.379]) but not for Group 2 (β = .083, 95% percentile CI [−.020,.212]) and Group 3 (β = .099, 95% percentile CI [.002,.207]). There was also a significant full mediating effect of hopelessness for Group1 (β = .095, 95% percentile CI [.038,.169]) but not for Group 2 (β = −.010, 95% percentile CI [−.038,.056]), and Group 3 (β = .042, 95% percentile CI [−.001,.104]). However, a significant indirect serial mediating effect of academic burnout through psychache was found in Group 1 (β = .088, 95% percentile CI [.030,.154]), Group 2 (β = .144, 95% percentile CI [.079,.235]), and Group 3 (β = .128, 95% percentile CI [.081,.202]). Similarly, a significant indirect serial mediating effect of academic burnout through hopeless- ness was found in Group 1 (β = .041, 95% percentile CI [.016,.078]), Group 2 (β = .031, 95% percentile CI [.011,.074]), and Group 3 (β = .040, 95% percentile CI [.017,.083]). Global model fit was mixed, CFI = .904, NFI = .903, GFI = .949, and RMSEA = .217. The Educator/Institutional expectation model. We tested the specified model with the exogenous variable educator/institution expectation (Fig 5). Results found no significant indirect mediating effect of burnout for Group 1

(β = .000, 95% percentile CI [−.026,.021]), Group 2 (β = .000, 95% percentile CI [−.026,.021]), and Group 3 (β = −.009, 95% percentile CI [−.054,.009]). There was a significant full mediating effect of psychache for Group 1(β = .157, 95% percentile CI [.034,.273]) and Group 3(β = .159, 95% percentile CI [.071,.274]) but not for Group 2 (β = .117, 95% percentile CI [−.020,.295]). There was no significant mediating effect of hopelessness for Group 1 (β = .033, 95% percentile CI [−.013,.085]), Group 2 (β = .030, 95% percentile CI [−.008,.099]), and Group 3 (β = −.025, 95% percentile CI [−.027,.092]). Fig 3. Self expectation models. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0337831.g003