The Mediating Role of Suicidal Ideation in the Relationship Between Parenting Styles, Basic Psychological Needs and Perceived Burdensomeness with Non-Suicidal Self-Injury among Adolescents

The objective of this study was to investigate the potential mediating effect of suicidal ideation on the relationship between parenting styles, fundamental psychological needs, and adolescents' perceived burdensomeness with non-suicidal self-injury. The research study utilized a descriptive-correlational approach to examine a sample of 420 high school students (188 male and 232 female) selected through cluster random sampling from a larger population of 224,400 male and female high school students in Tehran during the 2019-2020 academic year. Beck Scale for Suicide Ideation (BSSI), Self-Harm Inventory (SHI), Basic Needs Satisfaction in General Scale (BNSG-S), Parents as Social Context Questionnaire (PASCQ), and Interpersonal Needs Questionnaire (INQ) were among the instruments utilized. Pearson's correlation coefficient and structural equation modeling were implemented in SPSS-23 and Amos-23 statistical software, respectively, to analyze the data. Suicidal ideation mediated a significant indirect effect of parenting styles, fundamental psychological needs, and perceived burdensomeness on non-suicidal self-injury, according to the results of structural equation modeling. An additional 44% of the variance in suicidal ideation could be attributed to perceived burdensomeness, fundamental psychological requirements, and parenting styles. Furthermore, a combination of parental styles, fundamental psychological needs, perceived burdensomeness, and suicidal ideation accounted for 35% of the variability observed in non-suicidal self-injury. These results suggest that fostering appropriate parenting styles, the satisfaction of fundamental psychological needs, the reduction of perceived burdensomeness, and the addressing of suicidal ideation in adolescents could effectively mitigate non-suicidal self-injury.