Parental bonding in severely suicidal adolescent inpatients.
O Freudenstein1, A Zohar, A Apter
1Feinberg Child Study Center, Schneider Children's Medical Center of Israel, Petah Tikva, Israel.
Summary
Adolescents with severe suicidal behavior perceived mothers as less caring and more overprotective. Maternal bonding quality is a key factor in adolescent suicidal behavior, informing prevention and therapy.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Adolescent Psychiatry
- Clinical Psychology
Background:
- Family environment significantly influences adolescent suicidal behavior.
- Parental bonding is a critical aspect of family dynamics.
- Understanding these relationships is vital for mental health interventions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the association between parental bonding dimensions (care and overprotection) and suicidal behavior in adolescent inpatients.
- To differentiate between adolescents with varying levels of suicidal behavior based on their perception of maternal bonding.
Main Methods:
- Assessed parental bonding using the Parental Bonding Instrument in suicidal (n=53) and non-suicidal (n=47) adolescent inpatients.
- Examined two dimensions: maternal care and maternal overprotection.
- Employed discriminant analysis to distinguish between high and low suicidality groups.
Main Results:
- Adolescents with severe suicidal behavior reported lower maternal care and higher maternal overprotection compared to those with mild or no suicidal behavior.
- Discriminant analysis significantly differentiated between high and low suicidality groups (71% accuracy).
- Perceived quality of maternal bonding emerged as a significant correlate of suicidal behavior severity.
Conclusions:
- The perception of maternal bonding quality is strongly linked to adolescent suicidal behavior.
- Findings suggest that therapeutic strategies and prevention efforts should consider the dynamics of maternal bonding.
- Interventions targeting the parent-child relationship may be beneficial for at-risk adolescents.
Related Concept Videos
03:34Theory of Romantic Attachment in Adulthood
Attachment is a long-standing connection or bond with others. While Attachment Theory was conceived in developmental psychology to describe infant-caregiver bonding, it's been extended into adulthood to include romantic relationships.
01:28Relationship with Parents: Attachment
Parent-child interactions lay the foundation for how we understand relationships throughout life. These interactions are not uniform across families; instead, they are shaped by a range of environmental, emotional, and behavioral factors unique to each caregiver-child dynamic. Social psychologists study these early relationships to understand how patterns formed in infancy influence social functioning and interpersonal behavior in adulthood.Attachment Theory and Early Relational ModelsJohn...
01:20Attachment
Attachment is vital for infant development, as warm social interactions support growth and well-being. In a classic 1958 study by Harry Harlow, the significance of warmth and comfort in forming attachments was examined. Harlow separated newborn monkeys from their mothers and provided two artificial "mothers": one made of cold wire and the other covered in soft cloth. Despite the wire mother offering food, the infant monkeys preferred the comfort of the cloth mother, demonstrating that physical...
00:55Parental Care
Many animals exhibit parental care behavior, including feeding, grooming, and protecting young offspring. Parental care is universal in mammals and birds, which often have young that are born relatively helpless. Several species of insects and fish, as well as some amphibians, also care for their young.
01:24Attachment Styles
Jeffrey Simpson's attachment theory suggests that early caregiver relationships shape lasting patterns of behavior and emotional regulation, known as attachment styles. These patterns are organized along two key dimensions: self-esteem and interpersonal trust. The intersection of these dimensions produces four primary attachment styles that typically persist throughout life and significantly influence how individuals form and maintain relationships.Secure Attachment StyleIndividuals with a...
03:00Self-Evaluation: Self-Enhancement and Self-Verification
Social psychologists have documented that feeling good about ourselves and maintaining positive self-esteem is a powerful motivator of human behavior (Tavris & Aronson, 2008). In the United States, members of the predominant culture typically think very highly of themselves and view themselves as good people who are above average on many desirable traits (Ehrlinger, Gilovich, & Ross, 2005). Often, our behavior, attitudes, and beliefs are affected when we experience a threat to our...