(PS8-49) Exploring the relationship between caregiver problem-solving skills and their suicide-related attitudes

Abstract Text: Difficulties with problem solving has been found to be associated with suicide-related behaviors in youth. In turn, fostering problem-solving skills has been indicated as a target for youth suicide prevention efforts. Caregivers play a key role in the development and implementation of suicide prevention efforts for their children. However, little is known about caregiver problem-solving skills in relation to youth suicide prevention. This study sought to explore whether perceived caregiver problem solving skills are associated with their suicide-related attitudes to inform youth suicide prevention efforts. Caregivers (18+) of youth between the ages of 8-17, residing in the United States, were recruited through Prolific and were asked to complete an online survey. 286 caregivers answered questions about their own perceived problem-solving skills (a selection of emotion-focused problem-solving questions from the Wasik Problem Solving Rating Scale, Wasik & Bryant, 1994; e.g., “It’s easy for me to carry out my plans”). Caregivers also completed a subset of questions about their suicide-related attitudes, focused on how they would respond if their child were at risk for suicide (Adrian et al., 2017; e.g., “I would feel competent helping my child at risk for suicide”). Data preparation and bivariate correlations were completed on SPSS v29. Bivariate correlations revealed a significant positive correlation between perceived caregiver problem solving and caregiver suicide-related attitudes, p< 0.001. A simple linear regression analysis was conducted on MPlus with caregiver problem-solving skills as the independent variable and caregiver suicide-related attitudes as the dependent variable. The results found that caregiver problem-solving skills were a significant positive predictor of suicide-related attitudes, p< 0.001. Additional analyses are planned, including a multiple regression to explore the relative influence of various facets of problem solving on caregiver suicide-related attitudes. Furthermore, a moderation analysis is planned to assess the influence of caregiver’s mental health experiences on the relationship between caregiver problem solving skills and their suicide-related attitudes. These initial results suggest that problem solving skills in caregivers is worth further exploration in terms of its relation to improving youth suicide prevention. With suicide being one of the leading causes of death for youth in the United States and globally, and with suicide rates continuing to grow for youth experiencing marginalization, it is paramount to identify and address factors that help with the success of youth suicide prevention efforts.