Changes in Loneliness during Middle Childhood Predict Risk for Adolescent Suicidality Indirectly through Mental Health Problems

We investigated whether changes in loneliness during middle childhood as well as from middle childhood into adolescence were associated with adolescent self-harm behaviors and suicidal thoughts using a community sample of 889 participants. Multivariate logistic regressions indicate that the relation...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of clinical child and adolescent psychology 2011-11, Vol.40 (6), p.818-824
Main Authors: Jones, Angela C., Schinka, Katherine C., van Dulmen, Manfred H. M., Bossarte, Robert M., Swahn, Monica H.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Adolescent Behavior - psychology
Adolescents
Behavior Problems
Child
Child psychology
Childhood
Children
Depression
Depression (Psychology)
Developmental Stages
Emotions
Female
Humans
Interpersonal Relations
Loneliness
Loneliness - psychology
Male
Mental disorders
Mental Disorders - psychology
Mental Health
Peer Group
Peer Relationship
Psychiatric disorders
Psychological Patterns
Risk
Self Destructive Behavior
Self-Injurious Behavior - psychology
Selfinjury
Suicidal behaviour
Suicidal Ideation
Suicide
Suicide - psychology
Suicides & suicide attempts
Teenagers
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Summary:We investigated whether changes in loneliness during middle childhood as well as from middle childhood into adolescence were associated with adolescent self-harm behaviors and suicidal thoughts using a community sample of 889 participants. Multivariate logistic regressions indicate that the relationship between changes in loneliness and suicidality is no longer statistically significant once depression and externalizing behavior problems are included as controls. Follow-up analyses indicate that increases in loneliness indirectly affect self-harm behaviors and suicidal thoughts through depression and externalizing behavior problems. These findings are consistent with other studies on peer relationships and adolescent suicidality, suggesting that experiences with peers indirectly affect risk for suicidality through mental health problems. These findings highlight the importance of considering how experiences in middle childhood peer relationships affect risk for suicide in consecutive developmental periods, particularly adolescence.
ISSN:1537-4416
1537-4424
DOI:10.1080/15374416.2011.614585