Negative automatic thoughts as a mediator of the relationship between depression and suicidal behaviour in an at-risk sample of Malaysian adolescents

Background This study examined the mediating role of negative automatic thoughts in the relationship between depression and suicidal behaviour in a sample of at‐risk Malaysian adolescents. Method A total of 1441 adolescents were initially recruited via multistage cluster sampling. Subsequently, 294 at‐risk adolescents were selected for further analyses through a specified cut‐off score. Results The results showed significant positive relationships among the study variables. Specifically, negative automatic thoughts emerged as a significant mediator in the relation between depression and suicidal behaviour (z = 7.15, p