Psychological and Family Factors Associated with Suicidal Ideation in Pre-Adolescents

Abstract

To assess the psychological and family factors associated with suicidal ideation in preadolescent children, we studied a sample of 361 students, average age 9 years old. Two groups were formed, on the basis of the presence (n = 34) or absence (n = 44) of suicidal ideation. Suicidal ideation was assessed with the Children's Depression Inventory and the Children's Depression Rating Scale-Revised. Depression, hopelessness, self-esteem, and perceived family environment were compared in both the suicidal ideation and the control groups. Students with suicidal ideation generally presented greater depressive symptoms and hopelessness, and lower self-esteem and family expressiveness, although there were differences both between sexes, and when the variable depression was controlled. Identifying these risk factors in pre-adolescents may have an impact on prevention of suicidal behavior at higher risk ages. Key words: suicidal ideation, children, depression, hopelessness, self-esteem and perceived family environment Con el objetivo de evaluar factores psicológicos y familiares asociados a la ideación suicida en niños prepúberes, se ha utilizado una muestra de 361 escolares con una edad media de 9 años, a partir de la cual se han constituido 2 grupos en función de la presencia (n = 34) o ausencia de ideación suicida (n = 44). La ideación suicida se ha evaluado con el Children's Depression Inventory y la Children's Depression Rating Scale Revised. La depresión, la desesperanza, la autoestima y la percepción del clima familiar se han comparado en el grupo con ideación suicida y el grupo control. Los alumnos con ideación suicida presentan en general mayor sintomatología depresiva, mayor desesperanza y menor autoestima y expresividad familiar, aunque existen diferencias según sexo y depresión. La identificación de estos factores de riesgo en prepúberes puede ser importante en la prevención de la conducta suicida en edades de mayor vulnerabilidad.

Stress and suicidal ideas in adolescent students in Chandigarh

“…The issues assessed on subscale 'A' included frequent arguments among parents, criticizing and interfering attitudes of parents, disagreement between student and parent, poor trust, high expectations and lack of guidance. In earlier studies also, disturbed interpersonal relationship with parents was associated in 77% of adolescents with deliberate self-harm, [14,18] and higher stress in three quarters of suicidal adolescents. [17] In another study from Delhi, physical abuse and feeling neglected by parents were found to be signiÞ cant risk factors for suicidal behaviors.…”

“…[18,21] In a large study from Guyana, 18.4% of students considered suicide in the last one year. [22] In another study from Nigeria, suicidal ideas were reported in 20% of the students, and suicidal attempt, in 12%.…”

Suicidal thoughts and depressive feelings amongst Estonian schoolchildren: effect of family relationship and family structure

“…Suicidal behaviour is frequently associated with depression [1][2][3]. Descriptive epidemiology of children's and adolescents' suicidal behaviour shows, in a non-clinical sample of schoolchildren, self-reported suicidal ideation in approximately 1-14%, and depressive symptoms in 18-44% of cases [4][5][6][7]. The risk of developing suicidal behaviour is thought to be associated with cumulative exposure to a range of factors: social and family circumstances, personality, traumatic life experiences and mental health [3,[8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15].…”

Suicidal ideation and associated factors among in-school adolescents in Zambia

“…While there have been reports on the prevalence and correlates of suicidal ideation in the developed world (Vinas et al, 2002;Joe et al, 2006), data from the developing world are limited. We therefore carried out this study to estimate the prevalence and assess socio-demographic correlates among in-school adolescents in Zambia.…”