Abstract
OBJECTIVES: Parenting styles and psychological resilience are closely associated with suicidal tendencies among adolescents with depression. This study aims to examine the influence of parenting styles on suicidal ideation and suicidal risk in depressed adolescents and to analyze the mediating role of psychological resilience. METHODS: Depressed adolescents who attended the Department of Mental Health at the Second Hospital of Lanzhou University from March 2023 to August 2024 were enrolled. The Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC), the Short Egna Minnen av Barndoms Uppfostran (S-EMBU), and the Beck Scale for Suicide Ideation (BSI) were used to assess psychological resilience, parenting styles, and suicidal tendencies. Mediating effects were tested using Stata 17. RESULTS: A total of 131 adolescents with depression were included, with a mean age of (15±2) years; 82 participants (62.6%) were female. Correlation analyses showed that psychological resilience was significantly negatively correlated with parental overprotection and suicidal risk (r=-0.210 and r=-0.233, respectively; both P<0.01). Parental emotional warmth was significantly negatively correlated with suicidal ideation and suicidal risk (r=-0.141 and r=-0.214, respectively; both P<0.05). Parental overprotection was significantly positively correlated with suicidal ideation (r=0.200, P<0.01). Mediation analysis showed that psychological resilience significantly mediated the relationship between parental overprotection and suicidal risk, accounting for 28.5% of the total effect (P<0.05); however, the mediation effect on suicidal ideation was not statistically significant(P>0.05). Bootstrap analysis further confirmed that this indirect effect was nonsignificant. Parental emotional warmth demonstrated significant mediating effects through psychological resilience on both suicidal ideation and suicidal risk, accounting for 16.7% and 10.5% of the total effects, respectively (both P<0.05). Although the direct effects of parental rejection on suicidal ideation and suicidal risk were not significant(P>0.05), its indirect effects through psychological resilience on both outcomes were significant (accounting for 25.0% and 22.2% of the total effects, respectively; both P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Parenting styles exert substantial influence on suicidal tendencies among adolescents with depression, and psychological resilience plays a mediating role in these associations. Reducing parental overprotection and rejection while enhancing emotional warmth may help strengthen adolescents' psychological resilience, thereby lowering their suicide risk.