Suicide ideation among Latinx adolescents: Examining the role of parental monitoring and intrinsic religiosity

Abstract

Latinx adolescents continue to be at elevated risk for depression and suicide. The present study tested the mediation effect of depression in relation to intrinsic religiosity and suicide ideation and the mediating effects of parental involvement in relation to suicide ideation through depressive symptomology. This cross-sectional study included 3, 115 Latinx adolescent respondents from the 2016 National Survey on Drug Use and Health. Regression path analysis results suggest that the indirect effects of intrinsic religiosity on suicide ideation via depression were statistically significant across various levels of parental monitoring groups suggesting intrinsic religiosity can have a reinforcing moderating mediation effect. Thus, intrinsic religiosity would do more to help reduce suicide ideation through depression. It seems prudent for suicide prevention and intervention efforts to include intrinsic religiosity and parental monitoring since the findings show that both elements can be valuable in reducing depressive symptomology and suicide ideation. Doing so may provide a pathway for reducing suicidality among Latinx youth, an ethnic group with some of the most acute suicide problems in the US.