Childhood maltreatment, psychiatric symptoms, and suicidal thoughts among adolescents receiving substance use treatment services

Abstract

Introduction: Childhood maltreatment experiences are associated with future suicidal thoughts and suicide attempts, yet the roles of speciic psychiatric symptoms mediating this relation remain to be clariied. To clarify these relations, we tested a model incorporating multiple forms of childhood maltreatment (sexual abuse, physical punishment, emotional neglect), past year psychiatric disorder symptoms during adolescence (anxiety, mood, and conduct disorders) and recent suicidal thoughts. Methods: We administered structured interviews to 394 adolescents receiving outpatient substance use treatment services in the Southeastern United States (280 males; Mage = 16.33; SDage = 1.15). Structural equation models (SEMs) were used to evaluate the degree to which relations between childhood maltreatment and suicidal thoughts were mediated by speciic past-year psychiatric symptoms. Results: Mood disorder symptoms signiicantly mediated the relation between neglect/negative home environment and suicidal thoughts. This path of inluence did not vary by gender. Conclusions: Childhood maltreatment and subsequent psychopathology inluence suicidal thoughts among adolescents receiving substance use treatment services. The indings of the present study have implications for the adaptation and delivery of substance use treatment services to adolescents to enhance treatment engagement and outcomes.

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