Staff and Researcher Publications

Language

English

Publication Date

11-15-2023

Journal

Journal of Affective Disorders

DOI

10.1016/j.jad.2023.08.111

PMID

37633528

Abstract

Background: Suicide is among one of the leading causes of death in the United States affecting individuals of all ages.

Methods: We examined the relationship between suicide risk and parental attachment among an inpatient psychiatric sample of 690 adolescents and 1000 adults. Participants completed self-report measures of suicide risk and attachment.

Results: We found that both adolescents and adults with insecure (i.e., preoccupied, dismissive, fearful) maternal and paternal attachment are at a significantly higher risk of suicide compared to those with secure maternal and paternal attachment. Adolescents who endorsed a previous suicide attempt (27.2 %) were less likely to have a secure maternal attachment, while adults who endorsed a previous suicide attempt (28.9 %) were less likely to have secure paternal attachment.

Limitations: Our sample had limited racial and ethnic diversity which may limit the generalizability of the results to a broader population.

Conclusions: The present study provides evidence of the importance of parental attachment styles as a predictor of suicide-related behaviors across both adolescents and adults who are admitted inpatient. This suggests the importance of utilizing family-based interventions in order to reduce the risk of suicide.

Keywords

Humans, Adolescent, Adult, Hospitals, Psychiatric, Inpatients, Parents, Family, Hospitalization, Adolescent, Adult, Attachment, Suicidal behavior, Suicidality

Published Open-Access

yes

Download

Share

COinS
 
 

To view the content in your browser, please download Adobe Reader or, alternately,
you may Download the file to your hard drive.

NOTE: The latest versions of Adobe Reader do not support viewing PDF files within Firefox on Mac OS and if you are using a modern (Intel) Mac, there is no official plugin for viewing PDF files within the browser window.