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Adolescent alcohol use and suicidal ideation: a nonrecursive model
John M Light1, Joel W Grube, Patricia A Madden
1Prevention Research Center, 2150 Shattuck Avenue, Suite 900, Berkeley, CA 94704, USA. jlight@prev.org
Addictive Behaviors
|May 3, 2003
Summary
Adolescent alcohol use and suicidality have a complex relationship. For females, suicidal thoughts may increase alcohol problems, while for males, alcohol problems may predict suicidal ideation.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Public Health
- Adolescent Health
Background:
- Adolescent alcohol use is linked to suicide ideation and behaviors.
- The causal direction of this relationship remains unclear, with possibilities including unidirectional effects, bidirectional effects, or confounding factors.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the causal relationship between adolescent alcohol problems and suicidality.
- To examine potential gender differences in this relationship.
Main Methods:
- A two-wave panel survey (24-month interval) of 615 high school students (aged 12+ at Wave 1).
- Full-Information Maximum Likelihood (FIML) models were used to analyze data separately for males and females.
- Cross-sectional analyses examined relationships within each wave.
Main Results:
- Alcohol problems were associated with suicide ideation and behavior at both time points.
- For females, suicidality predicted increased alcohol-related problems.
- For males, alcohol-related problems predicted suicidality.
Conclusions:
- The study reveals a gender-specific causal link between alcohol problems and suicidality in adolescents.
- Findings suggest different pathways for males and females regarding alcohol use and suicidal behaviors.