A Sequential Mediation Model of Adolescent Suicidal Ideation: The Roles of Emotional Reactivity, Cognitive Control, Cognitive Flexibility, and Defeat

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 1. Assistant Professor, Department of Educational Sciences, Faculty of Humanities, Sayyed Jamaleddin Asadabadi University, Asadabad, Hamedan, Iran

2 2. M.Sc. in Clinical Psychology, Shiraz Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Shiraz, Iran.

3 Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology, Kazeron Salman Farsi university, Fars, Iran. 0000-0002-6402-5640

Abstract

This study investigated A Sequential Mediation Model of Adolescent Suicidal Ideation: The Roles of Emotional Reactivity, Cognitive Control, Cognitive Flexibility, and Defeat among Iranian adolescents. Using a correlational design with structural equation modeling (SEM), a sample of 623 adolescents (aged 14–19) from Lorestan Province was selected via multistage cluster random sampling. Data were collected using the Emotional Reactivity Scale (ERS), the Cognitive Control and Flexibility Questionnaire (CCFQ), the Ruminative Response Scale (Brooding subscale), the Defeat Scale, and the Suicide Probability Scale (SPS; Ideation subscale). The results indicated a sequential mediation process: emotional reactivity, cognitive control, and flexibility predicted defeat, which in turn predicted rumination, ultimately leading to increased suicidal ideation. Specifically, the initial predictors accounted for 44% of the variance in defeat, 54% in rumination, and 63% in suicidal ideation. These findings demonstrate that defeat and rumination function as critical sequential psychological mechanisms linking emotional and cognitive dysregulation to suicidal ideation. By identifying these modifiable precursors, the study provides empirical support for early intervention strategies aimed at disrupting the progression from emotional reactivity to suicidal thoughts in the adolescent population.

Keywords

References

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