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Gender Differences in the Psychosocial Correlates of Suicidal Ideation Among Adolescents
Author(s) -
Rich Alexander R.,
KirkpatrickSmith Joyce,
Bonner Ronald L.,
Jans Frank
Publication year - 1992
Publication title -
suicide and life‐threatening behavior
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.544
H-Index - 90
eISSN - 1943-278X
pISSN - 0363-0234
DOI - 10.1111/j.1943-278x.1992.tb00741.x
Subject(s) - suicidal ideation , loneliness , psychology , psychosocial , clinical psychology , discriminant function analysis , impulsivity , depression (economics) , psychiatry , anger , substance abuse , poison control , suicide prevention , medicine , medical emergency , machine learning , computer science , economics , macroeconomics
Gender differences in the psychosocial correlates of suicidal ideation were studied. A sample of 613 high school students (ages 14–19) completed measures of suicidal ideation, depression, hopelessness, life stress, loneliness, alcohol and drug use, and reasons for living. The results of a discriminant function analysis indicated that males reported higher loneliness and substance abuse scores than females whereas females reported greater suicidal ideation, depression, and reasons for living. The results of multiple regression analyses found that, although the same four variables, depression, hopelessness, substance abuse, and few reasons for living emerged as significant predictors of suicidal ideation in both samples, the predictive equation accounted for more of the variance in ideation scores in females (57%) than in males (46%). In a final analysis a discriminant function analysis of the subscales of the reasons for living inventory revealed that females have a greater fear of death and injury whereas males have a greater fear of social disapproval over having suicidal thoughts. This may account for the greater rate of suicide completing among males. Fear of social disapproval, more anger and impulsivity, and less help‐seeking behavior among males are offered as potential variables to explain the observed gender differences.