Structural Relationship among the Life Stress, Depression, Suicidal Ideation of Adolescents

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the structural relationship among the life stress, depression, suicidal ideation of adolescent. Methods: Participants for this study included 285 students from five middle schools located in Seoul and Gyeongsangbukdo, Korea. The SPSS 18.0 program and AMOS 18.0 program were used for analysis of data. Results: The characteristics of this study were to analyze causal relationship with latent variables by considering measurement error and to grasp direct effect, indirect effect and total effect. Life stress and depression were found to be factors influencing suicidal ideation. Depression was a direct factor and life stress was a indirect factor. The effects of depression as a mediator between life stress and suicidal ideation were significant statistically. Conclusion: The findings of this study may provide useful assistance in development of effective nursing interventions for prevention and management of middle school students' suicidal ideation.