Cognitive distortions are conceptualized as one of the most potent predictors of suicide. However, little is known about the mediating and moderating mechanisms linking cognitive distortions and suicidal ideation. The present study examined a prospective moderated mediation model linking cognitive distortions and suicidal ideation, with drug use, social problem-solving, and perceived burdensomeness as the mediators and childhood sexual abuse as the moderator. Participants included 150 homeless youth who participated in a randomized clinical trial for suicide intervention. Participants were assessed at baseline, 3, 6, and 9 months post-baseline. We analyzed the data using a multiple-group path model. Findings showed that social problem-solving and perceived burdensomeness sequentially mediated the association between cognitive distortions and suicidal ideation regardless of childhood sexual abuse, whereas drug use mediated the association between cognitive distortions and suicidal ideation only among youth reporting no history of sexual abuse. Findings highlight how coping processes, both adaptive and maladaptive, operate differently to predict suicidal ideation contingent on the effects of childhood sexual abuse in the context of cognitive distortions. Findings also underscore the importance of addressing the effects of childhood abuse to facilitate the efficiency of interventions that seek to reduce suicidal ideation among a vulnerable population. Public Policy Relevance StatementFindings from this study suggest different coping processes that can be targeted in suicide prevention interventions for homeless youth. Further, it is important to understand and address the effects of childhood abuse in order to facilitate the efficiency of related suicide prevention interventions among a high-risk group of youth. aaa H igh rates of suicidal ideation and attempts have been observed among homeless youth, with national samples indicating that up to 68% of homeless youth report at least one-lifetime suicide attempt (Rotheram-Borus & Milburn, 2004;Yoder et al., 2010). Cognitive distortions, referring to distorted cognitive patterns of information processing that result in maladaptive behavior and emotions in the face of stressful situations (Alford & Beck, 1997), have been conceptualized as one of the most pernicious factors relevant to the development and maintenance of suicidal ideation and behaviors (Jager-Hyman et al., 2014;Joiner, 2005;Wenzel et al., 2009). Despite theoretical attention paid to cognitive distortions of suicidal individuals, empirical research This document is copyrighted by the American Psychological Association or one of its allied publishers.This article is intended solely for the personal use of the individual user and is not to be disseminated broadly.

Objectives: The present study examined the association between acculturative stress and rule-breaking behaviors, with depressive symptoms as the mediator, and emotion regulation and parental behavioral involvement (i.e., time spent in shared activities between parents and adolescents) as the moderators among Latinx adolescents in rural areas. Method: Using a sample of Latinx adolescents (N = 193; M age = 15.90; 54.4% female) recruited from rural areas, a moderated mediation model was tested. Results: Findings showed that the mediational pathways connecting acculturative stress, depressive symptoms, and rulebreaking behaviors were moderated by emotion regulation and parental behavioral involvement. Specifically, higher levels of acculturative stress were associated with higher levels of rule-breaking behaviors through elevated depressive symptoms only among adolescents who reported low levels of both emotion regulation and parental behavioral involvement. Conclusion: These findings underscore the importance of considering multiple contextual factors in understanding the development of internalizing and externalizing behaviors among Latinx adolescents in rural areas. The findings suggest intervention programs may target parental behavioral involvement and emotion regulation to help adolescents cope with acculturative stress and perhaps other minority stressors. Public Significance StatementOur findings suggest that parental behavioral involvement (i.e., time spent in shared activities between parents and adolescents) and adolescents' emotion regulation may protect Latinx adolescents in rural areas from negative adjustment outcomes in the context of acculturative stress. Among adolescents who lack emotion regulation skills, parental behavioral involvement may compensate for poor emotion regulation, and buffer against the negative influence of acculturative stress.

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