A socio-ecological approach to adolescent suicide ideation: the role of family, peers, and teachers.

This thesis aimed to explore a range of social-ecological factors in the understanding of adolescent suicide ideation. Comprising two studies, the first study examined adolescents’ differential perceptions of mother involvement and father involvement, and their association with adolescent suicide ideation and psychological well-being. The second study investigated the unique and combined contribution of mother involvement, father involvement, family functioning, peer attachment, adolescent psychological well-being, teacher support, and adolescent emotional distress, in a predictive model of adolescent suicide ideation, with father involvement as the key independent variable. Participants involved 46 adolescents aged 15 to 19 years (M =16.59, SD =1.28) with 33 females and 13 males attending high school in Victoria, Melbourne. A paired-samples t-test revealed significant differences in adolescents’ perceptions of overall mother involvement and father involvement (eta squared = .357) and across their various dimensions. The overall predictive model was significant with adolescent emotional distress, peer attachment, and father involvement uniquely contributed to the model, and with father involvement having the greatest predictive power. However, teacher support, family functioning, adolescent psychological well-being and mother involvement did not independently predict adolescent suicide ideation. <br><br>It is concluded that maternal and paternal parenting behaviours are different and their involvement should thus be conceptualised separately. In addition, peer attachment and father involvement may have a protective role again adolescent suicidal ideation. Conceptual, theoretical, and clinical implications are discussed.