title: Victimization, Suicidal Ideation, and Alcohol Use From Age 13 to 15 Years: Support for the Self-Medication Model.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Recent years have seen increased coverage of adolescent victimization and suicide. Both adolescent peer victimization and substance use have been associated with suicidal ideation, with evidence suggesting that all three factors are interrelated. There are at least four models which can explain the associations between these factors (i.e., self-medication, secondary mental disorder, bidirectional, and common factor). However, none of them is being empirically supported as the dominant model because few longitudinal studies have explored the association between these factors.
  
  
  METHODS
  The present study compared longitudinal paths of all four models simultaneously using a cross-lagged model. This was done using self-reported measures of peer victimization, suicidal ideation, and alcohol use at age 13, 14, and 15 years in a longitudinal sample of 238 adolescents.
  
  
  RESULTS
  All three variables were moderately stable across time. Significant cross-lagged associations were found, showing that frequent peer victimization at age 13 years was associated with higher odds of having suicidal ideation at age 14 years (odds ratio, 1.82; p < .05). In turn, presence of suicidal ideation at age 14 years was significantly associated with higher alcohol use frequency at age 15 years (β = .13; p < .05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Results support previous literature suggesting that peer victimization predates alcohol use and extends it by showing clear directionality between suicidal ideation and alcohol use over 1 year, supporting the self-medication model. Clarifying the empirical basis of these underlying models could allow for earlier prevention strategies, by targeting the risk factor that appears the earliest in the model.
authors.affiliation: Psychology Department, Université de Montréal, Montréal, Québec, Canada.
authors.forename: Shawn
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Marschall-Lévesque
authors.affiliation: School of Psychoeducation, Université de Montréal, Montréal, Québec, Canada. Electronic address: natalie.castellanos.ryan@umontreal.ca.
authors.forename: Natalie
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Castellanos-Ryan
authors.affiliation: School of Psychoeducation, Université de Montréal, Montréal, Québec, Canada.
authors.forename: Sophie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Parent
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, McGill University, and Douglas Mental Health University Institute, Montréal, Québec, Canada.
authors.forename: Johanne
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Renaud
authors.affiliation: School of Psychoeducation, Université de Montréal, Montréal, Québec, Canada; Centre de recherche du CHU Ste-Justine, Montréal, Québec, Canada.
authors.forename: Frank
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Vitaro
authors.affiliation: Psychology Department, Université Laval, Québec, Québec, Canada.
authors.forename: Michel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Boivin
authors.affiliation: Centre de recherche du CHU Ste-Justine, Montréal, Québec, Canada; Department of Pediatrics and Psychology, Université de Montréal, Québec, Canada; Institute of Genetic, Neurobiological, Social Foundations of Child Development, Tomsk State University, Russian Federation; School of Public Health and Population Science, University College, Dublin, Ireland.
authors.forename: Richard E
authors.initials: RE
authors.lastname: Tremblay
authors.affiliation: Centre de recherche du CHU Ste-Justine, Montréal, Québec, Canada; Department of Psychiatry, Université de Montréal, Montréal, Québec, Canada.
authors.forename: Jean R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Séguin
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000523:psychology*; D058445:Bullying; D019548:Crime Victims / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008960:Models, Psychological; D010379:Peer Group; D011792:Quebec; D012651:Self Medication / Q000379:methods / Q000523:psychology*; D057566:Self Report; D059020:Suicidal Ideation
keywords: Adolescent; Alcohol use; Peer victimization; Secondary mental health model; Self-medication model; Suicidal thoughts