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By Alan Mozes
NEW YORK, Mar 06 (Reuters Health) - American adolescents and teenagers are much less likely to attempt suicide if they have a sense of "connectedness" to parents, family or other caregiving adults, researchers report.
This appears to be true whether or not a teen is white, black or Hispanic, according to a report in the March issue of the journal Pediatrics. What's more, a sense of emotional well-being seems to be especially beneficial for teen girls and a high grade point average seems to protect teen boys from contemplating suicide.
"What this study affirms is the remarkably important role of parents and families, adults outside of the family, and school as sources of connection and anchoring points in the lives of young people," study co-author Dr. Michael D. Resnick told Reuters Health.
Resnick and colleagues at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis looked at interviews conducted between 1994 and 1996 with over 13,000 students in grades 7 through 12. The students included black, white and Hispanic youth drawn from a sample of 134 schools throughout the US.
The teens were more likely to attempt suicide if they had done so in the past, used drugs or alcohol, had academic problems, or a history of being a perpetrator or victim of violence. Boys who carried weapons at school or who were coming to terms with homosexuality were more likely to attempt suicide. Girls with academic problems or a history of mental health issues were at greater risk as well.
However, the investigators found that youth who had a sense of family connectedness were much less likely to attempt suicide.
Indeed, even those youth with many of the suicide risk factors were 70% to 85% less likely to attempt suicide if they had family support, emotional well-being, and other positive sources of encouragement.
Healthcare providers should encourage parents to develop nurturing skills and spend time with their children, according to the report.
"There is no reason to give up on a kid and say nothing can be done," Resnick told Reuters Health. "What this analysis shows is that protective factors can offset the effects of risk factors." Such support can come from a variety of places, he noted.
"The good news in this is that when one of those environments is not nurturing--when for example a family is not a source of love and support--other adults and schools can provide that kind of connectedness to kids that we see as very beneficial in preventing suicide in the short and long term," he said.
Suicide is the third leading cause of death in US youth aged 10 to 19, with suicide rates in the past decade increasing the most in black and other minority youth.
SOURCE: Pediatrics 2001;107:485-493.
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