title: Parent-offspring conflict and cost-benefit analysis in adolescent suicidal behavior : Effects of birth order and dissatisfaction with mother on attempt incidence and severity.
abstract: Data on birth order and parent-offspring relations for 1,601 adolescents participating in the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health were used to test hypotheses about the role of adolescent suicidal behavior in parent-offspring conflict. Among adolescents highly dissatisfied with their mothers, the odds that middleborns would make at least one suicide attempt was 23% that of first- and lastborns (p<.001), but their odds of receiving medical treatment for their attempts was 8.5 times greater than the odds for first- and lastborns (p=.032). The results are tentatively interpreted as supporting the hypothesis that adolescents use suicide attempts to leverage investment from their parents.
authors.affiliation: Virginia Institute of Psychiatric and Behavioral Genetics, 800 E. Leigh, Suite 100, 23298-0126, Richmond, VA. pandrews@vcu.edu.
authors.forename: Paul W
authors.initials: PW
authors.lastname: Andrews
keywords: Add Health; Adolescents; Attempted suicide; Birth order; Blackmail; Cost-benefit analysis; Parent-offspring conflict