The purpose of the current study is to investigate social support (from parents, classmates, teachers, and close friends) as a protective factor in the association between depression and suicidal ideation.Data on students' levels of social support, depression, and suicidal ideation were collected from 399 9th-grade students using the Child and Adolescent Social Support Scale (CASSS), the Children's Depression Inventory, 2nd Edition Short Version (CDI 2), and the Suicidal Ideation Questionnaire -Junior Version (SIQ-JR). Results of hierarchical linear regressions indicated parent, classmate, and close friend social support buffered the association between depression and suicidal ideation. Close friend social support as a buffer appeared to be more robust for girls. Implications concerning these findings are discussed.
K E Y W O R D Sadolescents, depression, social support, suicidal ideation Suicide prevention and intervention efforts recognize suicide as a continuum of behaviors, with suicidal ideation on one end of the spectrum, followed by suicidal intent, suicidal attempt, and finally death by suicide at spectrum's end (Mazza, 2006). In a national survey within the United States, about 17% of high-school students reported seriously contemplating suicide, 13% also reported they had created a plan, and about 8% attempted taking their own life within the last year (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2014). Data indicate that approximately one-third of adolescents who contemplate or ideate about suicide attempt suicide (Nock et al., 2013). Prevention and intervention efforts may be informed by research focusing on the initial end of the spectrum of suicidal behaviors-suicidal ideation. It is important that research examines risk factors of potential suicidal ideation such as depression, and investigates potential protective factors. Thus, the current study investigated the role of social support as a potential protective factor in the association between self-reported symptoms of depression and suicidal ideation. 490