The Relationship between Academic Stress and Suicidal Ideation among Middle-school Students: The Moderated Mediating Effects of Entrapment and Emotional Support from Peers

Abstract

This study examined the moderated mediating impact of entrapment and emotional support from peers in the relationship between academic stress and suicidal ideation among middle-school students. The participants consisted of 214 middle-school students in the first to third grades from four middle schools located in Seoul, Gyeong-gi, Chun-cheon, and Jeonnam. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Pearson’s correlation coefficients, and the Process Macro Model versions 4, 1, and 14. The results of this study were as follows. First, academic stress did not directly influence suicidal ideation; however, entrapment mediated the relationship between academic stress and suicidal ideation. Second, emotional support from peers moderated the mediating effect of entrapment in the aforementioned relationship. This means that if students perceived emotional support from peers, then academic stress had a smaller impact on suicidal ideation through entrapment. These findings highlight the importance of decreasing levels of academic stress and entrapment to prevent suicidal ideation among middle-school students. They also suggest that enhancing students’ emotional support networks with their peers could be an effective way of reducing suicidal ideation when students feel high levels of entrapment and academic stress.