BECE. Newsletter 

Vol.12, No.1, 2022 1607 

 

 

 

 

Harsh Parenting and Adolescent Suicidal Tendencies: 

Based on a Moderated Mediation Model 

By Lyu, S. P., Wang, Y., Wang, X. H., Guo, X. S., & Yao, X. Y. 
Correspondence to: School of Public Policy and Administration, Xi’an Jiaotong 

University, China. E-mail: xhwang@mail.xjtu.edu.cn  

ARIOUS evidence reveals that teenagers today have become a popula-

tion with high suicide risk. It is of great theoretical and practical signif-

icance to investigate the factors influencing teenagers’ suicide mentality and 

the mechanism underlying them. Published in Psychological Development 

and Education, this study examines the relationship between harsh parenting 

and adolescent suicidal tendencies, based on a questionnaire survey of 4071 

secondary students from four middle schools in Xi'an City. The research re-

sults are as follows: 

 Harsh parenting and individuals’ justification of suicide behavior 

have significant predictive effects on teenager suicide tendencies. 

First, long-term harsh parenting involving severe punishment will 

make the home, which should offer spiritual comfort and support 

to children, full of conflicts, thus increasing their suicide risk. Se-

cond, individuals who accept and support suicidal behavior are 

more likely to have suicidal mentality and behavior. 

 Adolescents’ justification of suicide behavior partially mediates 

the relationship between harsh parenting and adolescent suicidal 

tendencies. If children are often severely punished by their par-

ents and seldom feel love and care from them, they will develop a 

sense of worthlessness and self-hatred, thus taking suicide as a 

reasonable way to avoid mental agony. 

 Among various forms of social support, teacher support has the 

most significant moderating effect on the relationship between 

harsh parenting and teenager suicidal tendencies mediated by the 

justification of suicidal behavior. Social support refers to care and 

aid that teenagers get from their peers, teachers, and other social 

groups, which generate emotional comfort and psychological 

support. The results show that teacher support can reduce the in-

fluence of teenagers’ justification of suicide behavior on young-

sters’ suicide tendencies, improve their self-efficacy and well-

being, and thus eliminate suicidal intention. 

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mailto:xhwang@mail.xjtu.edu.cn


 

Vol.12, No.1, 2022 1608 

Based on the above findings, it is concluded that those traditional 

harsh parenting ideas like the one that corporal punishment is beneficial to 

child growth should be abandoned. The so-called stringent discipline, espe-

cially authoritarian way of discipline, is likely to cause serious destructive 

consequences. 

 

Source: Psychological Development and Education, 2022; 

2022(6):869-878.