Abstract

In order to estimate the differential effect of anxiety-depressive symptoms and impulsivity on adolescent suicidal ideation depending on the type of parental support, 440 Chilean students who were attending secondary education were evaluated. The suicidal ideation subscale of the Columbia-Suicide Severity Rating Scale (C-SSRS), the Abbreviated Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scales (DASS -21), the sub-scale of the International Inventory of Personality Disorders (IPDE-SQ) and the Brief Parental Scale (EPB) were administered. A multiple linear regression analysis was performed to estimate the main and interaction effects of the variables studied on the suicidal ideation of adolescents. Women reported greater depressive symptoms, greater anxiety symptoms, greater impulsivity and suicidal ideation than men. Maternal support moderated depressive/anxious symptoms and impulsivity effects on suicidal ideation. At high levels of maternal support, depressive/anxiety symptoms and impulsivity effect on suicidal ideation was lower. Parental support, meanwhile, was not a significant moderator. This study analyzed parental support effects on adolescent suicidal behaviors by incorporating new antecedents into the discussion. In new lines of research, the relationship between parents and their children should be analyzed in greater detail and included in the development of adolescent suicide prevention and intervention programs.