Psychosocial Factors Associated With Parental Self‐Efficacy in Adolescent Suicide Prevention: A Mixed Methods Study Protocol

Adolescent suicide and suicidal thoughts and behaviors (STB) are an escalating public health crisis, especially among Black adolescents. Parents play a central role in suicide prevention efforts and are primarily responsible for ensuring their child's safety after a suicidal crisis. However, their needs in caring for children with STB are often overlooked. Parental self-efficacy (PSE) is a parent's belief in their ability to effectively fulfill their parenting role and is a strong predictor of parenting competence and child well-being. PSE in adolescent suicide prevention (PSE-SP) will be explored in this study and is conceptualized as a parent's perceived ability to support their child in crisis, keep them safe, and prevent future suicidal behavior. There is limited research on how parent and adolescent characteristics influence PSE-SP. This paper describes the protocol for a mixed-methods study to understand the psychosocial factors associated with PSE-SP among parents of adolescents following an emergency department visit for suicidal behavior. Data will be collected through cross-sectional surveys, medical record data extraction, and qualitative interviews. Given the disproportionate increase in STB among Black adolescents and the paucity of research that seeks to understand the experience of Black parents in this context, this study will oversample parents who identify as Black/African American. Results will address a clinical research gap on how to best equip and support parents caring for children with STB, informing the development of culturally responsive parent-centered interventions for adolescent suicide prevention.