Deficits in psychological resilience and problem-solving ability in adolescents with suicidal ideation

Abstract Objectives: This study aimed to explore the characteristics and differences of psychological resilience and problem-solving ability in grade one junior middle school adolescents with or without suicidal ideation, focusing on the relationship between these factors and suicidal ideation.Methods: Ninety-nine adolescents (aged 10 to 14) were divided into Suicidal Ideation (SI, n=49) and Non-Suicidal Ideation (NSI, n=50) group by the Self-rating Idea of Suicide Scale (SIOSS). The Psychological Resilience Scale (PRS) and Tower of Hanoi task (TOH) were applied to assess psychological resilience and problem-solving ability, respectively.Results: The SI group scored significantly lower than the NSI group on PRS (p< 0.001), and performed more poorly on TOH than the NSI group, with more mistakes in the number of errors index (p< 0.001) and longer time in the task completion time index (p< 0.05). A significant negative correlation was observed between PRS and SIOSS (r = -0.413, p< 0.01). The sub-dimensions of PRS including emotional control, family support, and interpersonal assistance were significantly negatively correlated with the SIOSS total score (r = -0.361, - 0.360, - 0.382; p< 0.01).Conclusions: Our data suggest that adolescents with SI may have deficits in psychological resilience and problem-solving ability, which may serve as potential targets for intervention for suicidal ideation.