Parent Adolescent Communication in relation to Personality Type and Suicidal Ideation among Adolescents A Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Award of the Degree of Master of Philosophy in Psychology by Anju S (Reg. No 1730050) Under the Supervision of Baiju Gopal Associate Professor Department of Psychology CHRIST (Deemed to be University) BENGALURU, INDIA December, 2018 Approval of Dissertation Dissertation entitled “Parent Adolescent Communication in relation to Personality Type and Suicidal Ideation” by Anju S, Reg. No. 1730050, is approved for the award of the degree of Masters of Philosophy in Psychology. Supervisor: _____________________ _____________________ Chairman: ______________________ _____________________ General Research Coordinator: _______________________ _____________________ Date: .............................. Place, Bengaluru (Seal) Declaration I, Anju S hereby declare that the dissertation, titled “Parent Adolescent Communication in relation to Personality Type and Suicidal Ideation among Adolescents” is the record of original research work undertaken by me for the award of the degree of Masters in Philosophy in Psychology. I have completed this study under the supervision of Dr. Baiju Gopal, Associate Professor, Department of Psychology. I also declare that this dissertation has not been submitted for the award of any degree, diploma, associateship, fellowship or other title. I hereby confirm the originality of the work and that there is no plagiarism in any part of the dissertation. Place: Bengaluru Date: .................... Anju S Reg No. 1730050 Department of Psychology CHRIST (Deemed to be University) Bengaluru Certificate This is to certify that the dissertation submitted by Anju S (Reg.No. 1730050) titled, “Parent Adolescent Communication in relation to Personality Type and Suicidal Ideation among Adolescents” is the record of research work done by her during the academic year 2017-2018 under my supervision in partial fulfilment for the award of degree of Masters of Philosophy in Psychology. This dissertation has not been submitted for the award of any degree, diploma, associateship, fellowship or other title. I hereby confirm the originality of the work and that there is no plagiarism in any part of the dissertation. Place: Bengaluru Date: .................... Dr. Baiju Gopal Associate Professor Department of Psychology CHRIST (Deemed to be University) Bengaluru Dr. Tony Sam George Head of the Department Department of Psychology CHRIST (Deemed to be University) Bengaluru Acknowledgements I would like to acknowledge and convey my deepest appreciation and gratitude to all those who have generously contributed their valuable guidance, support and encouragement for the successful completion of my dissertation. First and foremost, I am grateful to the ever-living and loving Almighty God, the source of all blessings, wisdom and knowledge for guiding and guarding my path at every step towards the completion of this study. I would like to thank my guide, Dr. Baiju Gopal, Associate Professor, Department of Psychology, CHRIST (Deemed to be University), for his constant support; guidance and direction that helped me to complete my research work. I would also like to thank Yuvaraj.S, Assistant Professor, for his guidance and insightful comments. I thank the participants of this study, who showed a lot of interest and cooperated in the study. I extend my sincere thanks to the principal and teachers for their generosity and for providing the venues for the collecting the data. Finally, last but not the least, I express my profound gratitude to my family and friends for their support and encouragement in completion of my dissertation Anju S Abstract The purpose of the current study is to investigate parent adolescent communication in relation to personality type and suicidal ideation among adolescents. In step with World health organisation (2012), suicide is currently amongst the third leading reason of death among adolescents. The objective of the research is (a) To analyze if there is any relationship between parent-adolescent communication, big five personality trait, and suicidal ideation; (b) To analyze how the mother-adolescent communication moderates the big five personality trait and suicidal ideation in adolescents; (c) To analyze how the father- adolescent communication moderates the big five personality trait and suicidal ideation in adolescents; (d) To analyze if there is any significant gender difference on suicidal ideation. The study was quantitative in nature; with correlational research design. The target population were adolescents from various academic institutes in Kerala. The sample consists of 300 adolescents. Convenience sampling method was used to select participants. The tools used were Parent Adolescent Communication Scale (Olson, 1985), Big Five Personality Inventory (Cattell, 1960) and Beck’s Suicidal Ideation Scale (Beck, 1979). Data analysis used were Spearman’s rank order correlation, moderation analysis and Mann Whitney U test. The results were as follows: there was significant relationship between parent adolescent communication, personality type and suicidal ideation. Problems in mother adolescent communication shows a moderating role on extraversion. Openness of mother adolescent communication has a moderating role on openness to experience. Family or communication between mother and father plays a totally essential position in shaping the personality and mental health among adolescents Keywords: parent adolescent communication, personality type, suicidal ideation, adolescents, moderation Table of Contents Approval of dissertation............................................................................................................ii Declaration................................................................................................................................iii Certificate..................................................................................................................................iv Acknowledgment…………..………………………...……….......…………………..............v Abstract…………………………………………………..........………………………..........vi Table of Contents.....................................................................................................................vii List of Tables.............................................................................................................................x List of Figures...........................................................................................................................xi Chapter 1: Introduction………………………………………………......................................1 Suicidal Ideation………….…………..………………………...........................….....3 Suicidal Ideation among adolescents ………….......……………………....................4 Parent adolescent Communication................................................................................6 Personality.....................................................................................................................7 Adolescence.................................................................................................................11 Research questions.......................................................................................................12 Rationale......................................................................................................................12 Objectives of the study................................................................................................14 Hypothesis...................................................................................................................14 Operational definitions................................................................................................14 Chapter 2: Review of Literature...............................................................................................16 Personality and suicide.................................................................................................16 Family functioning and suicide....................................................................................16 Chapter 3: Method....................................................................................................................21 Research design...........................................................................................................21 Sample.........................................................................................................................21 Inclusion criteria..........................................................................................................21 Exclusion criteria.........................................................................................................21 Tools Used..................................................................................................................22 Parent Adolescent Communication Scale.........................................................22 Beck Scale for Suicidal Ideation.......................................................................22 Big Five Personality Inventory..........................................................................23 Procedure .......................................................................................................................23 Data Analysis..................................................................................................................25