title: Parental bonding in severely suicidal adolescent inpatients.
abstract: Family environment has a clear role in suicidal behavior of adolescents. We assessed the relationship between parental bonding and suicidal behavior in suicidal (n=53) and non-suicidal (n=47) adolescent inpatients. Two dimensions of parental bonding: care and overprotection, were assessed with the Parental Bonding Instrument. Results showed that adolescents with severe suicidal behavior tended to perceive their mothers as less caring and more overprotective compared to those with mild or no suicidal behavior. A discriminant analysis distinguished significantly between adolescents with high suicidality and those with low suicidality [χ2 (5) = 15.54; p=0.01] in 71% of the cases. The perception of the quality of maternal bonding may be an important correlate of suicidal behavior in adolescence and may guide therapeutic strategies and prevention.
authors.affiliation: Feinberg Child Study Center, Schneider Children's Medical Center of Israel, Petah Tikva, Israel.
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Freudenstein
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Zohar
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Apter
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Shoval
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Weizman
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Zalsman
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D032763:Behavior Control / Q000523:psychology; D005190:Family; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007297:Inpatients; D008297:Male; D008423:Maternal Age; D008425:Maternal Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009769:Object Attachment; D010287:Parent-Child Relations; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D059020:Suicidal Ideation; D013406:Suicide, Attempted / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000523:psychology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires