The effect of adolescents’ depressive experience onsuicide related behavior through health risk behavior

Objectives: This study aimed to examine the mediating role of health risk behaviors in the impact of depression on suicide-related behaviors in adolescents. The findings will provide essential data for developing health education programs for suicide prevention and promotion of a healthy lifestyle. Methods: This study used 2021 Youth Health Behavior Survey data, explores how depression (independent variable) relates to suicidal behaviors (dependent variable), examining the role of health-risk behaviors as mediators. Results: Depressed adolescents exhibited higher rates of suicidal behavior, alcohol, and tobacco use compared to non-depressed adolescents, along with increased instances of skipping breakfast, experiencing violence, engaging in sexual activity, and habitual drug use. The study found that health-risk behaviors partial mediating effect on the association between depression and suicide-related actions. Conclusion: To prevent suicide in adolescents, an intervention program is needed to stop the early stage of depression from advancing to the next stage. This could be done by addressing the factors that cause depression through continuous and systematic monitoring of high-risk adolescents. For adolescents who are already in depression, health education programs could be provided that replace health risk behavior with healthy behavior to create a protective buffer against suicidal behavior.