Download - New York State Office of Mental Health

Saving Lives in New York Volume 2: Approaches and Special Populations
Families
Robert Allen, Director
Bureau of Psychiatric Services
New York State Office of Mental Health
I. Findings
The relationship between the family unit
and a suicidal adolescent family member is
both complex and compelling. Despite a
historical bias that emphasized how a negative
family life could pose a risk to their
offspring’s mental health, there is growing
evidence that a family’s influence can and
should be considered as a protective factor
against their adolescent’s suicidal behavior.
The key seems to turn on whether family
influences - genetic, biological or environmental
- are, on balance, essentially positive
or negative for the family member’s
mental health. The capacity of the family
unit to exert influence is undeniable; the
content of that relationship varies from
family to family. It is also not static, in that
like individuals, family life can change over
time in response to inner growth and external
forces. Research has begun to examine
the under-studied half of the equation - that
of families as protective forces against suicidal
behavior, including repeated attempts
by their adolescent members.
The Family as Risk Factor
Psychiatric research has well established a
family history of mental illness or suicide
and general family dysfunction presently
both increase the risk that an adolescent
will become suicidal.
• A 1996 report that adolescent suicide
victims had significantly less frequent
and less satisfying communication with
their mothers and fathers;
• Family aggression has been noted to be
prevalent in suicidal children in the
general community and in clinical settings.
• A family history of suicidal behavior
greatly increases the risk of completed
suicide by an offspring. It may reflect a
genetic factor rather than family chaos
and psychopathology.
• Families of suicide attempters and
completers share an increased risk of
affective illness, substance abuse,
assaultive behavior and suicide
attempts. (Brent, 1997)
• The families of adolescent suicide
attempters are characterized by substantial
levels of dysfunction (Spirito et
al., 1989)
• There is a strong and specific association
between deliberate self- poisoning
in adolescence and family dysfunction
(Harrington et al., 1998)
• A family history of suicidal behavior
has been shown to increase suicide
risk even when controlled for poor
Families 77