Smoking, parent smoking, depressed mood, and suicidal ideation in teens

Abstract

Relative to teens who do not smoke and do not have parents who smoke, suicidal ideation risk is increased in teens who smoke only if they do not have a parent who smokes. We find evidence that the smoking and suicidal ideation of the teens is likely due to common psychosocial causes rather than a causal pathway from smoking to suicidal ideation.

Early substance use initiation and suicide ideation and attempts among students in France and the United States

“…The study also found that early smoking initiation was associated with suicide ideation and attempts in both France and the USA. These findings also confirm previous studies indicating that smoking is an important correlate of suicidal behaviors among youth in other countries (Boden et al 2008;Epstein and Spirito 2010;Cho et al 2007;Kokkevi et al 2010;Hockenberry et al 2010;McGee et al 2005). Moreover, similar to previous findings in the USA that indicate that smoking is an important factor in suicide attempt for girls (Epstein and Spirito 2010), the current measure of the age of smoking initiation was an important correlate of suicide attempts for girls, but not for boys, in stratified analyses of students in France and the USA.…”

“…Previous studies have documented a link between tobacco and cannabis use on suicidal behaviors but suggest that most likely these associations are noted because of shared factors rather than a direct relationship (Boden et al 2008;McGee et al 2005;Hockenberry et al 2010;Rossow et al 2009). These conclusions are supported by research that show that the association between cannabis and suicide can be explained when other psychological or behavior problems or life circumstances are taken into consideration (Boden et al 2008;Price et al 2009).…”

“…These conclusions are supported by research that show that the association between cannabis and suicide can be explained when other psychological or behavior problems or life circumstances are taken into consideration (Boden et al 2008;Price et al 2009). One intriguing study found that the increased risk of suicidal ideation among smokers was only important if they did not have parents who smoked (Hockenberry et al 2010). Similarly, another study found that the association between early tobacco smoking and suicidal ideation was no longer important when the analyses considered the impact of stress, depression and low family attachment (McGee et al 2005).…”

“…The study by Cho and colleagues (2007) also examined the role of initiation of other substances including cigarette smoking and hard drugs on suicidal behaviors, and found that among girls, early initiation of cigarette smoking, getting drunk, and hard drug use was also associated with depressive symptoms and suicidal behaviors, while among boys, earlier onset of cigarette smoking and hard drug use was associated with suicidal behaviors. There is a an increasing number of studies that show smoking as a significant factor associated with suicidal behaviors and suicide mortality among youth and adults in the USA (Hockenberry et al 2010), in Germany (Schneider et al 2010), in Greece (Kokkevi et al 2010), in Hungary (Döme et al 2011) and in New Zealand (Boden et al 2008;McGee et al 2005). However, important findings have been noted with respect to sex differences between boys and girls.…”

Suicidal Behavior, Smoking, and Familial Vulnerability

“…In addition, given evidence that suicide and smoking "run in families," it is possible that familial risk factors may partially account for the observation that smoking is a risk factor for suicide (Qin, Agerbo, & Mortensen, 2003). However, evidence that parental smoking is associated with offspring suicidal behavior is inconclusive (Hockenberry, Timmons, & Vander Weg, 2010).…”