(PS9-21) Perceived parent and teacher support associations with suicide ideation and attempts in high school students

Abstract Text: Suicide is the second leading cause of death for youth and one in five adolescents have seriously considered attempting suicide (CDC, 2023). Parent support has been shown to buffer the effects of suicide ideation in adolescents; however, findings for teacher support are more mixed (Brausch & Decker, 2014; Fredrick et al., 2018; Rueger et al., 2016). Teacher support has been reported to have less influence on suicide ideation in adolescents, with some studies finding no association at all (Frederick et al., 2018; Rueger et al., 2016). Research on social support and suicide attempts is also lacking. One study found that parent support, but not school support, negatively associated with suicide attempts in a clinical sample of adolescents (Miller et al., 2015). The current study aimed to extend prior research by examining how perceived social support from parents and teachers associates with suicide ideation and attempts in a sample of high school students. We predicted that parent support would negatively associate with suicide ideation, and teacher support would not. We also predicted that adolescents with a history of suicide attempts would report lower parent and teacher support compared to those with no attempts. The sample included 456 students (M age = 15.64; 50.8% female), who identified as mostly heterosexual (81.5%), and white (72.4%). Adolescents completed self-report measures assessing perceived social support (Child and Adolescent Social Support Scale; CASSS), current suicide ideation severity (SIQ-JR), and lifetime suicide attempts (SITBI-SF). Twenty (4.6%) participants reported ever making a suicide attempt. Linear regression analyses showed that parent support significantly and negatively associated with suicide ideation severity, b = -0.31, t(423) = -5.88, p < .001, but teacher support did not, b = -0.08, t(423) = -1.54, p = .125. Additionally, t-tests showed that students with suicide attempt history reported lower parent support (M = 41.53, SD = 10.71) than those with no history (M = 55.46, SD = 11.80), t(415) = 4.78, p < .001. Students with suicide attempt history also reported lower teacher support (M = 49.05, SD = 13.04) than those with no history (M = 56.72, SD = 11.12), t(420) = 2.91, p = .004. Our results for parent support are consistent with previous research and confirm that greater perceived parent support is associated with less suicide ideation severity. Teacher support was not associated with current suicide ideation, but students with suicide attempt history did report less support from teachers. Our results align with previous research showing that teacher support is not associated with suicide ideation. This could be due to inadequate mental health training from the schools or low levels of student involvement. Mental health training in high schools is crucial to support students who present with suicidal thoughts or other mental health challenges. Additionally, research shows teachers often experience uncertainty and anxiety after a student returns from school following a suicide attempt (Buchanan & Harris, 2014). This could lead to lower perceived teacher support from students. On the other hand, students facing these challenges may be hesitant to reach out to teachers or be involved within the school generally.