The Mediating Effect of Self-Esteem on the Relationship Between Parental Autonomy Support and Depression Among Middle School Students with Suicidal Thoughts

The present study aims to examine the effect of perceived parental autonomy support on depression among middle school students who have experienced suicidal thoughts, and to verify the mediating role of self-esteem in this relationship.The participants were 942 middle school students identified as being at high risk for suicide, selected from 8,796 adolescents who responded to the 2023 National Survey on the Human Rights of Children and Youth (National Approved Statistics No. 402001) conducted by the National Youth Policy Institute (NYPI) of Korea.To test the mediating effect of self-esteem in the relationship between perceived parental autonomy support and depression, multiple regression analysis was performed using SPSS 24.0.The mediating effect was further examined through bootstrapping analysis based on Model 4 of PROCESS 4.3.The results revealed that parental autonomy support perceived by middle school students with suicidal thoughts had a statistically significant positive effect on self-esteem, which in turn exerted a negative effect on depression.However, the direct effect of parental autonomy support on depression was not statistically significant.This indicates that self-esteem fully mediates the relationship between parental autonomy support and depression.Based on these findings, the study provides practical implications for strategies aimed at preventing and alleviating depression among middle school students experiencing suicidal thoughts.