Psychopathology of adolescent suicide: Hopelessness, coping beliefs, and depression.

Abstract

Two studies of adolescents examined the relation of several cognitive variables and depression to suicide-related behaviors. Study 1 compared hopelessness and depression in 281 high school students. Unlike research with adults, depression was significantly related to suicidal behaviors, even after hopelessness was statistically controlled. When depression was controlled, hopelessness was unrelated to suicidal behaviors for boys and only modestly related for girls. Study 2 examined depression, hopelessness, survival-coping beliefs, fear of social disapproval, and social desirability in relation to suicidal behaviors in 53 male juvenile delinquents. Again, hopelessness did not account for a significant proportion of the variance in suicide. Depression was uniquely related to past suicide attempts. Survival-coping beliefs were associated with self-predicted future suicide and other suicidal behaviors. Survival-coping beliefs are discussed as a cognitive buffer to suicidal ideation in adolescence.

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2. Hopelessness, depression, suicidal ideation, and clinical diagnosis of depression
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3. Factors associated with suicidal phenomena in adolescents: a systematic review of population-based studies
   Evans, Emma, Hawton, Keith, Rodham, Karen · 2004 · Clinical Psychology Review
4. Depression, hopelessness, suicidality, and related factors in sexual minority and heterosexual adolescents.
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5. The Relations between Perfectionism and Suicidality: A Systematic Review
   O'Connor, Rory C. · 2007 · Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior

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