Suicidality in parentally bereaved adolescents

Death Stud. 1999 Jun;23(4):359-70. doi: 10.1080/074811899201000.

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to examine the effects on suicidality of exposure to suicidal behavior in other people, depression, parent perceptions, and attitudes about life and death in a sample of 25 parentally bereaved teens. Participants participated in face-to-face interviews and completed the Reynolds Adolescent Depression Scale, Suicidal Ideation Questionnaire, Multi-Attitude Suicide Tendency Scale, and the Parent Perception Inventory. These adolescents were not clinically depressed, did not express serious levels of suicidal ideation, and had relatively minor histories of suicidality. However, significant relationships were found between attitudes, exposure, depression, and suicidality in partial support of previous research. Ways in which this study extend our knowledge of bereaved teens and recommendations for future research are discussed.

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Adult
  • Attitude to Death
  • Bereavement*
  • Death
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Parent-Child Relations*
  • Psychological Tests
  • Suicide* / psychology
  • Surveys and Questionnaires