Health and Medical Psychology Clinical Psychology

Somatic Symptoms and Suicidal Ideation in Adolescents: Mediating Roles of Perceived Stress and Psychological Flexibility

https://doi.org/10.61838/ijbmc.v13i7.1132
Suicidal Ideation Somatic Symptoms Stress Resilience Adolescent

Authors

  • Elmira Rasi M.A. in Psychology of Exceptional Children, Department of Psychology and Educational Sciences, Allameh Tabatabaei University, Tehran. Iran.
  • Toktam Amanalikhani
    Toktamalikhany@gmail.com
    Department of Health Psychology, KI. c., Islamic Azad University, Kish, Iran.
  • Samaneh Izadkhast PhD student of Psychology, Karaj Branch, Islamic Azad University, Karaj, Iran.
  • Saeedeh Moradi M.A. of Educational Psychology, Razi University, Kermanshah, Iran.
In Press
Quantitative Study(ies)

Objective: This study tested a structural model of suicidal ideation in adolescents based on somatic symptoms, with perceived stress and psychological flexibility as mediating variables.

Methods and Materials: This cross-sectional correlational study included 432 secondary-school students aged 13–18 years in Isfahan, Iran, selected through multistage cluster sampling. Participants completed the Patient Health Questionnaire-15, Perceived Stress Scale-10, Connor–Davidson Resilience Scale-10, and Suicidal Ideation Questionnaire-Junior. Data were analyzed using Pearson correlations and structural equation modeling with maximum likelihood estimation and 5,000 bootstrap resamples.

Findings: The structural model showed good fit: χ²/df = 1.66, CFI = 0.962, TLI = 0.953, RMSEA = 0.039, and SRMR = 0.041. Somatic symptoms had a significant direct effect on suicidal ideation (β = 0.28, p < 0.001) and significantly predicted perceived stress (β = 0.52, p < 0.001) and lower psychological flexibility (β = −0.39, p < 0.001). Perceived stress predicted higher suicidal ideation (β = 0.37, p < 0.001), whereas psychological flexibility predicted lower perceived stress (β = −0.44, p < 0.001) and suicidal ideation (β = −0.25, p < 0.001). Indirect effects through perceived stress (β = 0.19) and the psychological flexibility–stress pathway (β = 0.04) were significant. The model explained 63% of suicidal ideation variance.

Conclusion: Somatic symptoms are important clinical indicators of suicidal ideation among adolescents. Reducing perceived stress and strengthening psychological flexibility may be useful targets for school-based suicide prevention.