Introduction
Suicidal ideation (SI) and attempts (SA) are prevalent in late adolescence and emerging adulthood. Prior research has identified perceived support as a correlate of SI and SA. Less is known, though, about the role of perceived support in differentiating among suicidal outcomes and between the incremental escalation of suicidal outcomes from SI to SA to serious suicide attempts (SSA).
Method
Using ordinal regression, we used Wave 1 and 2 data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (N = 4500; 53% female; Mage = 16.6; 12% Hispanic) to examine cross‐sectional, longitudinal, and transitional models of perceived support and suicidality.
Results
Cross‐sectional results indicated that youths with higher perceived support were less likely to have suicidal ideation. Longitudinal results showed that youths with higher perceived support at Wave 1 were less likely to have suicidal ideation or serious suicide attempts at Wave 2. Transitional model results revealed that higher perceived support at Wave 1 was negatively associated with escalation in suicidal outcomes from Wave 1 to 2.
Conclusion
We discuss findings in the context of theories of suicide and discuss implications for suicide risk identification, intervention, and prevention efforts in late adolescence and emerging adulthood.
Background:
Traditionally, depression phenotypes have been defined based on interindividual differences that distinguish between subgroups of individuals expressing distinct depressive symptoms often from cross-sectional data. Alternatively, depression phenotypes can be defined based on intraindividual differences, differentiating between transitory states of distinct symptoms profiles that a person transitions into or out of over time. Such within-person phenotypic states are less examined, despite their potential significance for understanding and treating depression.
Methods:
The current study used intensive longitudinal data of youths (N = 120) at risk for depression. Clinical interviews (at baseline, 4, 10, 16, and 22 months) yielded 90 weekly assessments. We applied a multilevel hidden Markov model to identify intraindividual phenotypes of weekly depressive symptoms for at-risk youth.
Results:
Three intraindividual phenotypes emerged: a low-depression state, an elevated-depression state, and a cognitive-physical-symptom state. Youth had a high probability of remaining in the same state over time. Furthermore, probabilities of transitioning from one state to another did not differ by age or ethnoracial minority status; girls were more likely than boys to transition from a low-depression state to either the elevated-depression state or the cognitive-physical symptom state. Finally, these intraindividual phenotypes and their dynamics were associated with comorbid externalizing symptoms.
Conclusion:
Identifying these states as well as the transitions between them characterizes how symptoms of depression change over time and provide potential directions for intervention efforts
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.