Self-efficacy as a mediator on the relationship between parent-child bonding and suicidal ideation among middle school students

Background: The incidence of suicide among adolescents has rapidly increased, causing a serious social problem currently in Korea. The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of parent-child bonding on suicidal ideation among middle school students, and to examine the mediating effect of self-efficacy on the relationship between parent-child bonding and suicidal ideation.

Methods: For the Adolescent Health Promotion Study, 500 middle school students were selected national-wide by using quota sampling from regional areas in Korea. A multiple regression analysis and Sobel test were used to verify the significant mediating effect.

Results: The results show that suicidal ideation were negatively associated with the levels of parent-child bonding and self-efficacy, and that self-efficacy partially mediated the relationship between parental bonding and suicidal ideation. That is, parental bonding directly affected suicidal ideation, and it increased suicidal ideation through self-efficacy as a mediator.

Conclusion: These findings imply that parent-child relationship of adolescents is a core factor which impact the adolescents` suicide, and that self-efficacy plays an important role in suicidal ideation. Policy, education, and intervention efforts should be targeted at both improving family relationships and increasing self-efficacy among adolescents in planning suicide prevention programs.