The Attachment Hierarchy and Deviant Peer Affiliation in a Sample of Suicidal Adolescents

Abstract

The lack of a strong attachment bond to a parent has been shown to lead to adolescents associating with deviant peers and engaging in risky behaviors (Rosenthal & Kobak, 2010). The current study tested whether the relationship between attachment and deviant peer associations were associated with suicidal ideation and suicidal severity, using baseline data. The study was conducted as part of a clinical trial that compared the effectiveness of Attachment Based Family Therapy to Nondirective Therapy in a sample of suicidal adolescents. The study included 70 adolescents (76.8% female, ages 12-18) with the criteria for participation being suicide ideation (SIQ>30) and depression (BDI>19). The Important People Interview (IPI) assessed adolescents’ attachment hierarchies. Deviant peer associations were indexed by averaging adolescents’ reports of the frequency of their friends smoking, drugs or alcohol, and skipping school, and getting into trouble with adults. Suicidal ideation and suicidal severity were measured using the Columbia-Suicidality Severity Rating Scale, an interview used to assess the severity of suicide risk (C-SSRS; Posner et al., 2011). Mother’s placement in the attachment hierarchy and deviant peer affiliation were tested as predictors of severity of suicide ideation and behavior. The findings indicate that having the biological mother present as a major attachment figure reduces the severity of adolescents’ suicidal ideation, but does not influence the likelihood of suicide attempts. Deviant peer affiliation was associated with increased risk for suicide attempts.