Peer Deviance, Social Networks, and Suicide Ideation Intensity in a Clinical Sample of Adolescents

Abstract

Although research has identified interpersonal difficulties as risk factors for adolescent suicidality, parent and peer relationships are often assessed as discrete risk domains. The current study uses a social network approach to assess individual differences in the degree to which a clinical sample of 129 adolescents being treated for suicidal ideation rely on parents or peers for their attachment needs. Youth who affiliated with deviant peers were more likely to: (a) report greater intensity (increased frequency and duration and decreased controllability) of their suicide ideation, and (b) identify peers rather than adults as attachment figures. Adolescents’ peer relationships are associated with suicide ideation intensity in a clinical sample of suicidal and depressed adolescents.