The Association of Family Risk Factors with Suicidality Among Adolescent Primary Care Patients

Recent evidence suggesting that adolescent suicidality has increased over the past decade has emphasized the importance of assessing contributory psychosocial risk factors. This present study has examined the association of family conflict and family cohesion with adolescent suicidality. Data was collected from a multisite sample of 195 adolescent primary care patients using the Family Environment Survey (FES) and the Scale for Suicidal Ideation (BSI). Results indicated that family cohesion was significantly and inversely associated with suicidality (r = -.3904, p < .001) and that family conflict was significantly and positively associated with suicidality (r = .3899, p < .001). All (100 %) of the adolescents with BSI scores indicative of elevated risk for suicidal behavior reported above-median levels of family conflict. Reports of suicidality were particularly elevated among adolescents who reported high family conflict and low family cohesion. These findings suggest that it may be important to assess suicidality among adolescents reporting high family conflict and low family cohesion.