Emotional variability and late adolescent suicidal ideation: Buffering role of parent–youth connectedness

Abstract Introduction Emotional variability has been identified as a risk factor for adolescent psychopathology. This study explored the cross‐sectional and prospective associations between emotional variability and suicidal ideation and examined the moderating role of parent–adolescent connectedness. Methods Participants included 108 Taiwanese late adolescents (Mage = 18.53, SDage = 0.39; 64% female) who completed ecological momentary assessment (EMA) over 14 days, and baseline and follow‐up assessments over 6 months. Results Results indicated that while negative emotional (NE) and positive emotional (PE) variability were not associated with suicidal ideation at baseline, both predicted increased suicidal ideation 6 months later. Furthermore, parent–adolescent connectedness moderated the relationship between NE variability and suicidal ideation, with high connectedness mitigating the adverse effects of NE variability. Conclusions These findings suggest that emotional variability is a key predictor for the development of suicidal ideation and highlight the protective role of parent–adolescent connectedness. Interventions promoting family connectedness may be effective in reducing suicidal risk among emotionally variable youth.