Path Model for the Family and School Environment Affecting Adolescent Suicidal Ideation Mediated by Depression

Original Article

Journal of the Korean Home Economics Association 2001;39(1):151-167.

우울증을 매개로 한 청소년의 자살구상에 관한 가족 및 학교환경의 경로분석 모델

전영주

신라대학교 가족학과

Path Model for the Family and School Environment Affecting Adolescent Suicidal Ideation Mediated by Depression

전영주

ABSTRACT

This study tests the path model which examines how the variables of past and present family dynamics, school adjustment, filed life events affect the adolescents'depression which in tum influencing their suicidal ideation. In the path model, the exogenous varialbes were negative parenting experience in childhood, maladjustment history of the family (e.g., alcohol, divorce), present parent-adolesecent communication, school adjustment, filed life events were used, whereas the adolescent depression was used as the mediated variable. The endogenous variable was the adolescent suicidal ideation. The respondents of the survey were 635 adolescent who were 1st and 2nd grade of high school located in Seoul and Busan. Using SPSS for Windows, the path analysis was done for male and female adolescents separately, since female adolescents were found to report significantly higher degree of depression and suicidal ideation then were male adolescents. The results of the path analysis were as followings. First, for both the male and female adolescents, depression was the strongest predictor of their suicidal ideation. Also, school adjustment strongly affected the adolescents'depression as well as their suicidal ideation. Meanwhile, filed life events indirectly influenced the suicidal ideation only through the depression. Second, for the male adolescents, negative parenting experience in childhood affected both the depression and suicidal ideation, while the parent-adolescent communication directly affected the suicidal ideation. Third, for the female adolescents, maladjustment family history and negative parenting experience did not affect their depression, but the suicidal ideation. Meanwhile, parent-adolescent communication was a significant predictor of female adolescents'suicidal ideation as well as their depression. In conclusion, discussion on different path of male and female adolescents'suicidal ideation was provided.