Model of psychosocial risk factors leading to suicidal ideation in young adolescents

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Abstract
The primary goal of this study was to examine a theoretically based model of psychosocial risk factors and mediators leading to suicidal ideation in a normative sample of young adolescents, ages 12–15 years. Three self-report instruments were employed to tap the constructs of interest, the Self-Perception Profile for Children (Harter, 1985a), The Dimensions of Depression Profile (Harter, Nowakowski, & Marold, 1988), and the Social Support Scale for Children (Harter, 1985b). Utilizing path-analytic techniques, the best-fitting model includes, as potential antecedents, two self-concept clusters—(a) appearance, peer likability, and athletic competence and (b) scholastic competence and behavioral conduct—and two sources of social support — peer approval and parent approval. Paths from each of these constructs lead to a depression composite of affect, global self-worth, and hopelessness. The composite, in turn, functions as a mediator with a direct path to suicidal ideation. Comparisons of two subgroups of depressed adolescents defined by this composite, those with and without suicidal ideation, are also presented. The findings are discussed in terms of the need for theoretically based models that have implications for prevention and intervention in normative populations of adolescents.