Teenagers' Attitudes About Coping Strategies and Help-Seeking Behavior for Suicidality

• NCJ Number: 207017
• Journal: Child & Adolescent Psychiatry Volume: 43 Issue: 9 Dated: September 2004 Pages: 1124-1133
• Author(s): Madelyn S. Gould Ph.D.; Drew Velting Ph.D.; Marjorie Kleinman M.S.; Christopher Lucas M.D.; John G. Thomas B.S.; Michelle Chung B.A.
• Date Published: September 2004
• Length: 10 pages
• Grant Number(s): R01MH52827; K20MH01298; T32MH16434
• Sponsoring Agency: National Institute of Mental Health
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This article reports on findings from a self-report questionnaire administered to adolescents ages 13 through 19 to determine their attitudes about coping and help-seeking strategies for suicidal ideation/behavior and obtain information on demographic and clinical correlates.

Abstract

The sample consisted of 2,419 students (63.4 percent participation rate) enrolled in the 9th through 12th grades in 6 high schools in Nassau, Suffolk, and Westchester counties in New York. A self-report questionnaire administered during one class period assessed the major psychiatric risks for teen suicide: depression, substance and alcohol abuse, previous suicidal behavior, and current suicidal thoughts. The time frame for the assessment was the past 4 weeks, including the day of the survey. The survey was conducted from 1998 through 2001. A series of statistical tests was conducted to determine the significance of the differences in the attitudes between higher and lower suicide-risk groups. Two factors that approximate avoidance and approach coping responses, i.e., maladaptive coping strategies and help-seeking strategies, were identified. Similar to other studies, most adolescents generally endorsed healthy attitudes about the management of depression and suicidal ideation and behavior; however, many adolescents identified as at-risk of suicide had core beliefs that supported the use of maladaptive coping strategies and isolative behaviors in response to depression and suicidal thoughts. One-fourth to one-third of depressed or suicidal students were more likely to subscribe to the view that drugs and alcohol are a good way to stop depressive feelings. The authors advise that a better choice of appropriate help-seeking sources should be fostered among at-risk youth. Cognitive-behavioral strategies could provide a means for assessing coping strategies and beliefs that may be associated with those maladaptive beliefs identified in this study. 3 tables and 58 references