The Mediating Role of Emotion Regulation, Entrapment, and Depression Between Effortful Control, Rumination, and Suicidal Ideation

Objective: Depression and suicidal thoughts are severe issues in the field of mental health, and identifying factors affecting them can be a practical step to prevent them. This study examined the relationships between effortful control and rumination with suicidal ideation through mediation emotion regulation, entrapment, and depression. Methods: The study used a cross-sectional design. The sample comprised university students (n=222, 75.4% women). Participants completed the effortful control scale, difficulty in emotion regulation scale-short form, entrapment scale, rumination-reflection scale, Beck scale for suicidal ideation, and Beck depression inventory. Results: The results of the path analysis showed that the variables of rumination and effortful control had a significant effect on suicidal ideation through emotion regulation and depression. Furthermore, entrapment through depression affected suicidal ideation. The proposed model had good fit indices. Conclusion: It seems that cognitive defects reduce the ability to regulate emotions and make individuals vulnerable to depression and suicidal ideation. The results indicate the importance of strengthening emotion regulation and effortful control to prevent depression and suicidal ideation.