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Childhood Neglect and Adolescent Suicidal Ideation: a Moderated Mediation Model of Hope and Depression

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Abstract

Using data collected on a two-wave longitudinal sample of 910 adolescents with mean age of 13.68 years in Hong Kong, China, this survey aimed to test a moderated mediation model to account for the developmental pathway from childhood experiences of neglect to suicidal ideation in adolescents. Results showed that adolescents who were neglected as children had higher levels of suicidal ideation; furthermore, this relation was mediated by adolescents’ depressive symptoms, while the path between adolescents’ depressive symptoms and suicidal ideation was moderated by adolescents’ sense of hope. Findings of this study imply that intervention and services that help prevent childhood neglect, alleviate depression, and promote hope are potentially important to decrease adolescent suicidal ideation.

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Funding

The study was supported by the General Research Fund of the Research Grants Council of Hong Kong (RGC reference 142813).

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  1. Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, City University of Hong Kong, Tat Chee Avenue, Kowloon, Hong Kong

    Sylvia Y. C. L. Kwok & Minmin Gu

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  1. Sylvia Y. C. L. Kwok
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Correspondence to Sylvia Y. C. L. Kwok.

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Kwok, S.Y.C.L., Gu, M. Childhood Neglect and Adolescent Suicidal Ideation: a Moderated Mediation Model of Hope and Depression. Prev Sci 20, 632–642 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11121-018-0962-x

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