A theoretical model of adolescent suicide risk

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Abstract
A theoretical model of adolescent suicidal behavior was examined separately for 192 male and 329 female (N = 521) students of a suburban junior high school in the southwest. The model consisted of five constructs: the predictor variables of depression, hopelessness, self-esteem, and substance use and the criterion variable, suicide risk. A theoretical model consisting of five research hypotheses was proposed based on the suicide literature and was examined by path analysis using a structural equations statistical package, SAS PROC CALIS (Version 6.10). Results revealed that all relationships were in the predicted direction. The final model reasonably accounted for the data in spite of some gender differences. Males progressed from depression to substance use and then to suicide risk, while females progressed directly from depression to suicide risk. Depression was a stronger predictor of low self-esteem for females than for males. While hopelessness was a viable predictor of substance use for both males and females, it was not a viable predictor of suicide risk.

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