Family environment, attitudes toward life and death, depression, and suicidality in elementary-school children

This study examines whether perception of family environment, attitudes toward life and death, and depression predict suicidality in elementary-school children. Seventy-eight participants ages 8 to 13 recruited through an elementary school and a university were assessed for attitudes toward life and death, depression, suicidality, and family environment. A regression equation indicated that depression and attraction to life were the only variables accounting for variance in suicidality (49%). Family environment variables were moderately correlated with depression, indicating that family environment may play a role in the development and maintenance of depression, of which suicidality is a symptom. Concurrent treatment of family issues may not only ameliorate children's symptoms, but also provide a critical sense of support that may decrease the likelihood that these children will become suicidal in the future.