Buffering Effects of Social Support and Parental Monitoring on Suicide

Abstract

  A number of studies have examined the direct effects of social support, depression, and parental monitoring on suicide ideation. However, less is known about the mediation and moderation effects of social support, depression, and parental monitoring on suicide ideation among adolescents. To determine how suicide ideation is associated with an adolescent’s social support, depression, and parental monitoring, authors analyzed data drawn from the 2016 wave of the National Survey on Drug Use and Health. The total sample consisted of 14,272 participants, ages 12 to 17; 51.1 percent were male and 48.9 percent female. By using the PROCESS macro, the authors tested the mediation effect of depression between social support and suicide ideation moderated by parental monitoring. Depression mediated the correlation between social support and suicide ideation. Parental monitoring moderated the mediation effect of depression between social support and suicide ideation. These findings provide specific directions to develop and culturally tailor effective suicide intervention programs for adolescents with histories of depression to reduce their suicidal behavior.