The association between self-oriented perfectionism and suicidal ideation in adolescents: The buffering role of social connectedness

Abstract

This study examined and compared the moderating roles of connectedness to parents, peers, friends, and school in the association between self-oriented perfectionism and suicidal ideation among adolescents in a non-clinical, community sample. Data on suicidal ideation, self-oriented perfectionism, and connectedness in these four domains were collected using self-report instruments from adolescents with no psychiatric history. The results showed that although connectedness to parents, friends, peers, and school was generally associated with lower suicidal ideation, it was only connectedness to friends, peers, and school that significantly moderated the association between self-oriented perfectionism and suicidal ideation. Conversely, connectedness to parents did not demonstrate a significant moderating effect. These findings underscore the potential role of social bonds outside the family in understanding how self-oriented perfectionism relates to adolescent suicide ideation. They highlight the possible role of the wider social environment, which may, in some cases, be more influential than parental connectedness in moderating the association between self-oriented perfectionism and adolescent well-being.