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Negative automatic thoughts as a mediator of the relationship between depression and suicidal behaviour in an at‐risk sample of Malaysian adolescents
Author(s) -
Choon Min Wai,
Abu Talib Mansor,
Yaacob Siti Nor,
Awang Hamidin,
Tan Jo Pei,
Hassan Sallahuddin,
Ismail Zanariah
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
child and adolescent mental health
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.912
H-Index - 46
eISSN - 1475-3588
pISSN - 1475-357X
DOI - 10.1111/camh.12075
Subject(s) - psychology , depression (economics) , clinical psychology , cluster sampling , sample (material) , psychiatry , developmental psychology , medicine , population , chemistry , environmental health , chromatography , economics , macroeconomics
Background This study examined the mediating role of negative automatic thoughts in the relationship between depression and suicidal behaviour in a sample of at‐risk Malaysian adolescents. Method A total of 1441 adolescents were initially recruited via multistage cluster sampling. Subsequently, 294 at‐risk adolescents were selected for further analyses through a specified cut‐off score. Results The results showed significant positive relationships among the study variables. Specifically, negative automatic thoughts emerged as a significant mediator in the relation between depression and suicidal behaviour (z = 7.15, p < .001). Conclusions The findings suggest that depressed adolescents are at high risk for a host of negative thought processes which in turn lead to suicidal behaviour. The study limitations and recommendations for further research are discussed.