Familial Risk Factors Play an Important Role

¶ … familial risk factors play an important role in adolescent suicide. While a number of individual risk factors such as depression make adolescents vulnerable to suicidal behavior, the influence of familial interactions on adolescent suicide is also significant. Family theories of adolescent depression focus closely on the interaction of family and the adolescent, the need to find a functional balance between familial stability and flexibility (Nichols & Schwartz, 2004), and the importance of communication as both a cause of adolescent suicidality, and a potential area for therapy.

Familial risk factors in adolescent suicide include parental reaction, marital conflict, family communication, sexual abuse, abuse and the expendable child, non-suicidal loss of a family member, and a family history of suicidal behaviors. Each of these factors impacts adolescent suicide to differing degrees, with abuse (including sexual abuse) an important predictor of attempted suicide, and a family history of suicidal behaviors a significant risk factor for adolescent suicide beyond normal bereavement.

However, the current research suggests that Communication between parent and child is the largest family risk factor for suicidal behavior in adolescents (cite source). Clinicians can take interpret this diverse information on familial risk factors for adolescent suicide to assist adolescents during assessment and treatment of suicidality. Focus on the adolescent's differentiation and the degree of enmeshment and disengagement in the family is important, as is the examination of family function, the parent-child relationship, and family stressors.

A number of questions remain to be answered in relation to familial risk factors for adolescent suicide. Further research should include research into the whether guilt and self-blame among adolescents whose family members have committed suicide can be correlated to suicide attempts or suicide idealation. Further, little is known about the specific underlying factors that link the loss of caregivers to suicidal idealation. Another area for future research lies in abuse and the expendable child.

Currently, the relationship between expendability and harsh parental discipline or a parental tendency to ignore, disagree, or act bored with a child has not been fully explored. Further, research that links childhood sexual abuse to adolescent suicide must be replicated, especially in studies with strong statistical power. Other areas of familial communication and familial relationships require further elucidation of the link between these factors and adolescent suicide idealation, attempts, and completion. Research evaluating the level of differentiation and the adaptive level of functioning in suicidal adolescents is required, for example.

Further, research must be undertaken in order to determine the specific degree and type of marital conflict that is linked to adolescent suicidal behaviors. Overall, a significant amount of academic research remains to be completed before the impact of familial risk factors on adolescent suicide completion, idealation, and.