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Toward an Empirical Taxonomy of Suicide Ideation: A Cluster Analysis of the Youth Risk Behavior Survey
Author(s) -
Flannery William Peter,
Sneed Carl D.,
Marsh Penny
Publication year - 2003
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 - 10.1521/suli.33.4.365.25229
Subject(s) - suicidal ideation , cluster (spacecraft) , psychology , suicide ideation , suicide risk , clinical psychology , suicide prevention , youth risk behavior survey , human factors and ergonomics , poison control , developmental psychology , medicine , environmental health , computer science , programming language
In this study we examined adolescent risk behaviors, giving special attention to suicide ideation. Cluster analysis was used to classify adolescents ( N = 2,730) on the Youth Risk Behavior Survey. Six clusters of adolescent risk behavior were identified. Although each risk cluster was distinct, some clusters shared overlapping risk behaviors. Suicide ideation was central to two clusters: the Silent Suicide cluster and the Multiple Risk cluster. The findings demonstrate that suicide ideation is both a unique risk behavior for some adolescents and part of a generalized risk syndrome for other adolescents. A multiple subgroup framework is recommended for understanding adolescent risk behaviors.