The Intersection of Fatalismo and pessimism on depressive symptoms and suicidality of Mexican descent adolescents: An attribution perspective

Objectives: The purpose of the present study is to examine the role fatalismo beliefs and pessimistic attributions on depressive symptoms, hopelessness, and suicidality of Mexican descent adolescents. The major premise of this study is that it is the interaction between the level of negative attribution and fatalismo beliefs that explains the relationship with mental health outcomes, not the fatalistic belief itself. Method: A sample of 524 Mexican descent adolescents from a midsized city in south Texas was surveyed (age range = 14-20 years; M = 16.23 years; SD = 1.10 years). Results: Linear and logistic multiple regression analyses demonstrate that pessimism is independently and positively related to depressive symptoms, hopelessness, suicidal ideation, plans, and attempts. Predetermination and luck beliefs were not found to be independently related to any outcomes; however, there were significant interaction effects between pessimism and predetermination beliefs on suicidal ideation and plans. Conclusions: The findings of this study highlight the need to study fatalismo multidimensionally, use culturally relevant measures, and account for attributions to understand the affect of fatalismo on mental health outcomes.