Family Interaction and Adolescent Suicidal Behaviour: A Preliminary Investigation

Abstract

While investigators have emphasized the importance of familial relations in the production of suicidal behaviour in adolescence, experimental evaluation of specific family interaction processes has, thus far, been neglected. The aim of the present study was to investigate possible relationships between adolescent suicidal behaviour and total on-going family functioning. Hypotheses were advanced to evaluate the communication, interaction and reinforcement patterns in families. A modified revealed differences technique was employed to elicit standardized segments of interaction which were video-taped and later studied by two independent raters. The sample consisted of twelve individually matched, intact family tetrads, six normal (N) and six containing an adolescent female who had exhibited suicidal behaviour (SM). Results suggest that SM families constitute a malfunctioning system which can be differentiated from that of normal samples. As compared with the N group, SM family interaction evidenced less effective productivity, specificity, and adaptive interaction, and higher rates of conflict and negative reinforcement. Overall findings were discussed in terms of current family theory and their possible relationship to the genesis, maintenance and management of some classes of suicidal behaviour.

Family interaction and suicidal behaviour: a brief review

“…This suggests that suicidal behaviour is not an individual phenomenon but a social phenomenon. This particular aspect is taken up by other authors Richman, 1970,1972;Williams and Lyons, 1976) who take care to stress that communication is a reciprocal process of interaction within a social context. Such a view emphasizes that suicidal behaviour by one member is part of a social process and is not an initiator of a sequence of behaviour nor is it the result of being a passive victim.…”

Observed Interactions in Families of Adolescent Suicide Attempters

“…There have been just four published studies of families of adolescent suicide attempters using observational methods. Two used very small samples: a single case study (Kaslow, Wamboldt, Wamboldt, Anderson, & Benjamin, ), and a pilot study of six families (Williams & Lyons, ). The suicidal behavior in the other two studies was either low lethality or heterogenous for severity: a study comparing mother–adolescent interactions of 20 self‐injurious youth versus 21 typically developing controls (Crowell et al., ), and an examination of the association of observed parental warmth and hostility with adolescent suicidality (presence of ideation, plans, or attempts) in a community sample (Connor & Rueter, ).…”

The Implications of Social Modelling Research for Education

“…Friendship formation and interpersonal communication patterns may facilitate mutual imitative tendencies (Hartup and Coates, 1967;Lewis et al, 1975;Lippitt, Polansky and Rosen, 1952). In natural environments, peer modelling effects may be expected to cover a wide range of behaviour such as clothing preferences, children's games, vocabulary (Hamilton and Stewart, 1977) and even pathological reactions such as suicide attempts in adolescents (Williams and Lyons, 1976). …”