학교 밖 청소년의 진로 미성숙과 자살 경향성의 관계 - 자아존중감에 따른 우울의 조절된 매개효과를 중심으로

Association Between Career Immaturity and Suicidality Among Out-of-school Adolescents : The Moderated Mediating Effect of Depression According to Self-Esteem

Objective: This study examines the association between career immaturity and suicidality among out-of-school adolescents with a particular focus on the moderated mediating effect of depression according to self-esteem. Methods: A sample of 752 out-of-school adolescents from the Korean Teenagers’ Mental Health Study was used to test research hypotheses. PROCESS Macro Models 4 and 58 were utilized for data analyses. Results: First, out-of-school adoles-cents’ career immaturity had a positive influence on suicidality. Second, out-of-school adoles-cents’ depression had a partial mediating effect on the influence of career immaturity on suicidality. The level of career immaturity increased the level of depression, which in turn in-creased the level of suicidality. Third, out-of-school adolescents’ self-esteem moderated the mediating effect of depression. When the level of self-esteem increased, the mediating effect became smaller. Conclusions: Practical implications are discussed to deal with suicidality among out-of-school adolescents.