Stress exposure is central to theories of suicide. To advance understanding of the relation between stress and suicide, we examined whether specific, theoretically-pertinent life stressors were differentially related to suicidal thinking versus suicidal behaviors among hospitalized adolescents. Participants were 197 (144 female) adolescents aged 13 to 19 years old (M =15.61, SD = 1.48) recruited from an acute residential psychiatric treatment program. Participants were categorized into mutually exclusive groups: psychiatric controls (n = 38) with no lifetime history of suicide ideation or suicide attempts, suicide ideators (n = 99) with current ideation and no lifetime
Background.-While prior research has demonstrated that peer victimization and bully perpetration contribute to non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) and suicidal thoughts and behaviors (STBs), it remains unclear whether these interpersonal processes differentiate self-injuring adolescent suicide ideators and attempters. Methods.-The study included adolescents aged 13-18 years (n = 223; M = 15.31, SD = 1.34) recruited from an acute inpatient program. Participants were divided into two groups: (1) NSSI SI (n = 106): endorsed past year NSSI, current suicide ideation, and no lifetime suicide attempts and (2) NSSI SI+SA (n = 117): endorsed past year NSSI, current suicide ideation, and lifetime suicide attempts. Adolescents completed clinical interviews (i.e., mental disorders, NSSI, and STBs) and self-report measures assessing peer victimization, bully perpetration, and depression severity. Results.-NSSI SI+SA youth reported higher levels of peer victimization and bully perpetration than NSSI SI youth (ps < .01, ds = 0.36-0.37). Among the NSSI SI+SA youth, bully perpetration was associated with a greater number of past month suicide attempts (p = .02, RR = 1.07). Only peer victimization was associated with greater NSSI behaviors in the past month (p = .04, RR = 1.01). Limitations.-The study is cross-sectional, and reports of peer victimization and bully perpetration rely on self-report assessment.
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