Adolescent suicide ideation: effects of parents and peer relationships, self-esteem, depression, and hopelessness Cover Image

Суицидна идеация в юношеска възраст: ефекти на взаимоотношенията с родителите, връстниците, самооценка, депресия и безнадеждност
Adolescent suicide ideation: effects of parents and peer relationships, self-esteem, depression, and hopelessness

Author(s): Plamen Kalchev
Subject(s): Social Sciences, Psychology, Developmental Psychology, Clinical psychology
Published by: Софийски университет »Св. Климент Охридски«
Keywords: suicide ideation; parents; peers; self-esteem; depression; hopelessness

Summary/Abstract: A 3-items scale is constructed for the assessment of suicide ideation: presence of suicide thoughts, control over them, and tentatively reported suicide intention. The Suicide Ideation Scale is a part of the Adolescent Subjective Well-being and Relationships Scale (ASWRS, Kalchev, 2010, in print) and is used together with high school students’ version (8th-11th graders). The Center for Epidemiologic Studies – Depression Scale (Radloff, 1977), The Beck Depression Inventory (Beck et al., 1961; Balev, 1994), and The Beck Hopelessness Scale (Beck et al., 1974) are used to study 604 students (208 males, 391 females and missing), too. Data analysis is based on correlations and structural (regression) models; depression and hopelessness are mediator variables in the latter case which transfer other factors’ effects to the suicide ideation. The model explains a substantial part (38%) of suicide variance; the troubled relationship with patents has both direct and indirect effects, while self-esteem, peer acceptance and problems have only indirect effects (by mediators). The capacity of depression and hopelessness to predict suicide ideation is assessed by the area under the ROC curves and the sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values data. In agreement with the nonclinical adolescent sample results depression scales (Depressive mood from ASWRS and CES-D) are better predictors of suicide ideation than hopelessness. The profile of high-school students with different levels of suicide ideation is discussed; it suggests that the components of subjective well-and the troubled relationships with parents are better predictors of ideation level than peer relationships (peer acceptance and peer problems).