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Abstract
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OBJECTIVEs Illness is rarely considered a "risk factor" in adolescence. This study tests illness, suicidality and substance use as outcome measures in a path analysis of 1028 Swiss adolescents (in younger (11-15) and older (16-20) boys and younger (11-15 and older (16-20) girls) in secondary prevention programs.
METHODS: The participants of this study are integrated in a larger national secondary preventive intervention study in Switzerland for adolescents at risk. The programs target youths aged 11-20 years who face situations, which place them at risk for school drop-out, substance use or deviant behavior.
RESULT: Negative mood was a powerful predictor of both illness and suicidality, directly and of consumption, indirectly, through suicidality. While age differences were apparent, gender differences were most striking. For boys, negative mood led most frequently to suicidality and thence to consumption (younger boys 0.52 and 0.32; older boys 0.61 and 0.63). For girls, negative mood was slightly more likely to lead to illness (0.48, younger girls and 0.53 older girls) than to suicidality (-0.44 and 0.39) and thence to consumption (0.27 and 0.04ns). Further, good parental relationships protected girls against suicidality (-0.14 and -0.31) and consumption (-0.25 and -0.40). A good relationship with the parental was a strong protective factor for younger boys against consumption (-0.43), but served no protective factor for older boys, or against suicidality. Finally, consumption was slightly related to illness except among older boys.
CONCLUSION: The model showed that negative mood (depression and anxiety) predicted two distinct paths. One path led from negative mood to suicidality and from there to substance use. The other path led directly from negative mood to illness. Traditional protective factors (good family relations, secure identity) protected against the negative mood-suicide-substance path, but not against the negative mood-illness path.
Language: en |