Stressful events and adolescents’ suicidal ideation during the COVID-19 epidemic: A moderated mediation model of depression and parental educational involvement

This study examined the association between stressful events and adolescents’ suicidal ideation and determined the roles of depression as a mediator and parental educational involvement as a moderator during the COVID-19 epidemic. Survey data from a sample of 1595 Chinese adolescents and their parents were subjected to path analysis. The results indicated that stressful events of the COVID-19 epidemic were significantly positively associated with adolescents’ suicidal ideation, and this association was mediated by depression. In addition, adolescents’ parental educational involvement significantly moderated the path from depression to suicidal ideation. These results highlight the importance of identifying the underlying key mechanisms that moderate the mediated paths between stressful events and adolescents’ suicidal ideation during the COVID-19 epidemic. The findings also provide implications for parents and education staff regarding the importance of improving parental educational involvement to prevent adolescents’ suicidal ideation during the COVID-19 epidemic.