Abstract

We examined whether poverty-related cumulative risk, a composite measure of risk factors associated with poverty, predicts suicidal ideation among adolescents and whether positive parenting style moderates this relationship. We used the 7th wave of the Korea Welfare Panel Study (KoWEPS) data collected by the Korean Institute for Health and Social Affairs. The study involved personal interviews with 506 adolescents (245 females, 261 males) and their families. The head of the household provided information on the householders’ educational attainment, occupational status, housing quality, and family conflicts, which were used to develop the poverty-related cumulative risk measure. The adolescents provided information on their suicidal ideation and perception of their parents’ parenting style. Results of hierarchical multiple regression and Process Macro demonstrated a significant positive association between poverty-related cumulative risk and adolescents’ suicidal ideation. Additionally, we found that positive parenting moderates the relationship between poverty-related cumulative risk and suicidal ideation. Specifically, we found that adolescents who perceived low levels of positive parenting were more likely to have higher suicidal ideation. Our findings have clinical implications for the effective and early identification and prevention of suicidal ideation among adolescents.