Neurobehavioral pathways linking socioeconomic status hardship to suicide risk versus resilience in young adolescents: the roles of sleep health and default mode network connectivity.
Translational psychiatry – November 24, 2025
Source: PubMed
Summary
Did you know that brain connectivity might offer a shield against the mental health impacts of tough economic times? Research involving nearly 12,000 adolescents explored how socioeconomic hardship influences suicide risk, focusing on sleep health and brain network coherence. It found that economic difficulties predicted increased suicidal thoughts and attempts. Crucially, shorter sleep duration linked hardship to these thoughts. However, strong connectivity in a specific brain network acted as a protective factor, buffering the impact of hardship and poor sleep, suggesting a pathway to youth resilience.
Abstract
Socioeconomic hardship (SES-H) is a known risk factor for adolescent suicidal thoughts and behaviors (STB). This study examined sleep health as a pathway linking SES-H to suicide risk and evaluated the moderating role of Default Mode Network (DMN) coherence. Data came from three waves of the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study (N = 11,878). Increased SES-H predicted greater suicidal ideation and attempts. Shorter sleep duration mediated the association with ideation, while high DMN coherence attenuated the indirect effect of SES-H on ideation via sleep. Findings highlight sleep health as a mechanism connecting socioeconomic adversity to suicidality and suggest DMN coherence may function as a neuroprotective factor for youth resilience.