Relationship between academic stress and suicidal ideation: testing for depression as a mediator using multiple regression

Relations among academic stress, depression, and suicidal ideation were examined in 1,108 Asian adolescents 12-18 years old from a secondary school in Singapore. Using Baron and Kenny's [J Pers Soc Psychol 51:1173-1192, 1986] framework, this study tested the prediction that adolescent depression mediated the relationship between academic stress and suicidal ideation in a four-step process. The previously significant relationship between academic stress and suicidal ideation was significantly reduced in magnitude when depression was included in the model providing evidence in this sample that adolescent depression was a partial mediator. The applied and practical implications for intervention and prevention work in schools are discussed. The present investigation also served as a demonstration to illustrate how multiple regression analyses can be used as one possible method for testing mediation effects within child psychology and psychiatry.