Social support buffers the effect of interpersonal life stress on suicidal ideation and self-injury during adolescence
Abstract
Background: The effect of life stress on suicidal symptoms during adolescence is well documented. Stressful life events can trigger suicidality, but most adolescents are resilient and it is unclear which factors protect against the deleterious impact of stress. Social support is thought to be one such factor. Therefore, we investigated the buffering effect of specific sources of social support (parental and peer) on life stress (interpersonal and non-interpersonal) in predicting suicidal symptoms during adolescence. In order to test the specificity of this stress buffering, we also examined it with regard to dysphoric mood. Method: Data come from the Adolescent Development of Emotions and Personality Traits (ADEPT) Project, a cohort of 550 adolescent females aged 13.5–15.5 recruited from Long Island. Self-reported social support, suicidality, and dysphoria were assessed at baseline and suicidality and dysphoria were assessed again at 9-month follow-up. Life stress was assessed by interview at the follow-up. Results: High levels of parental support protected adolescent girls from developing suicidal symptoms following a stressor. This effect was less pronounced for peer support. Also, social support did not buffer the pathogenic effects of non-interpersonal stress. Finally, social support did not buffer the effect of life stress on dysphoric symptoms. Conclusions: Altogether, our results highlight a distinct developmental pathway for the development of suicidal symptoms involving parental support that differs from the development of dysphoria, and signifies the importance and specificity of social support in protecting against suicidality in adolescent girls.
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In community adolescent samples, suicide ideation is associated with general life stress, particularly in the interpersonal domain.
“This hypothesis has been broadly supported in community adolescent samples; suicide ideation is associated with general life stress, particularly in the interpersonal domain (e.g., King et al. 2001; Mackin et al. 2017; Tang et al. 2015).”
From Life stress and suicide in adolescents (2019) · cites this paper as Mackin et al. 2017
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- Authors
- Mackin, D. M., Perlman, G., Davila, J., Kotov, R., & Klein, D. N.
- Affiliations
- Stony Brook University (US)
- Corresponding author
- Mackin, D. M.
- Venue
- Psychological Medicine
- Publisher
- Cambridge University Press (CUP)
- Published
- 2016-12-20
- Volume
- 47
- Issue
- 6
- Pages
- 1149-1161
- ISSN
- 0033-2917 (ISSN-L)
- 1469-8978
- OpenAlex
- W2567672740
- Cited by
- 127
- References
- 67
- Citations by year
- 2026: 5 · 2025: 21 · 2024: 15 · 2023: 18 · 2022: 23 · 2021: 17 · 2020: 9 · 2019: 11 · 2018: 8
- FWCI
- 8.48
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Psychological Medicine (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- National Institutes of Health
- National Institute of Mental Health (R01MH093479)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Suicide and Self-Harm Studies
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Grief, Bereavement, and Mental Health
- Keywords
- social support, stress buffering, suicidal ideation, self-harm, adolescent girls, parental support, peer support, dysphoric mood, resilience, adolescent development
- MeSH terms
- Adolescent, Adolescent Behavior, Female, Humans, Interpersonal Relations, Social Support, Stress, Psychological, Self-Injurious Behavior, Suicidal Ideation
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