Protective Factors of Suicide: Religiosity and Parental Monitoring

Abstract Research has documented the positive impact of religiosity and parental monitoring on adolescent suicide ideation. However, the interactive effects of religiosity and moderating effects of parental monitoring have only been minimally explored. The purpose of this study was to: (1) to identify a mediation effect of depression between religiosity and suicide ideation among U.S. adolescents and (2) to test a moderation effect of parental monitoring in the mediation model. Cross-sectional data from the 2016 NSDUH was used, which included a total of 14,272 participants between ages 12 to 17. Results of PROCESS macro, suggest that depression fully mediated the association between religiosity and suicide ideation. Parental monitoring moderated the mediation effect from religiosity to suicide ideation through depression. It is recommended that increasing religiosity-based support should not exclude the use of parental monitoring when working with adolescents to help them with psychological problems, such as depression and suicide.