Suicidal ideations and attempts among adolescents subjected to childhood sexual abuse and family conflict/violence: the mediating role of anger and depressed mood.
Based on a sample of 9085 16- to 19-year-old students attending all high schools in Iceland in 2004, the current study examines depressed mood and anger as potential mediators between family conflict/violence and sexual abuse, on the one hand, and suicidal ideations and suicide attempts on the other. Agnew's general strain theory provides the theoretical framework for the study. Structural equation modelling (SEM) was conducted allowing explicit modelling of both direct and mediating effects using observed and latent variables. The findings showed that both depressed mood and anger mediated the relationship between family conflict/violence and sexual abuse and suicidal attempts. However, when testing the mediating pathways between sexual abuse and family conflict/violence and suicidal ideations, only depressed mood but not anger turned out to be a significant mediator. The authors discuss how these finding may inform and facilitate the design and development of interventions to reduce the likelihood of suicide attempts among young people.
Reykjavik University, Department of Psychology, Menntavegi 1, 101 Reykjavik, Iceland; Teacher's College, Columbia University, 525 West, 120th Street, 10027 Manhattan, NY, United States. Electronic address: ingadora@ru.is.
Inga Dora
ID
Sigfusdottir
Bryndis Bjork
BB
Asgeirsdottir
Gisli H
GH
Gudjonsson
Jon Fridrik
JF
Sigurdsson
D000293:Adolescent; D000786:Anger; D002650:Child Abuse, Sexual / Q000523:psychology*; D003863:Depression / Q000523:psychology*; D017579:Domestic Violence; D005195:Family Relations; D005260:Female; D006778:Hospitals, Psychiatric; D006801:Humans; D007055:Iceland; D008297:Male; D059020:Suicidal Ideation; D013406:Suicide, Attempted / Q000523:psychology*; D055815:Young Adult
Anger; Depressed mood; Family conflict; Sexual abuse; Suicidal ideations; Suicide attempts; Violence