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The long-lasting impact of adolescents’ deviant friends on suicidality: a 3-year follow-up perspective

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Abstract

Background

During adolescence, friends are increasingly important for support and values. Do friends also have a long-term impact on suicidality? This study explored the role of friendship problems (e.g., social isolation) and deviant friends during late adolescence on suicidal ideation and behavior 3 years later.

Method

Participants were 295 community adolescents (59 % Mexican-American; 41 % European-American) from the United States. Information about their suicidal ideation and behavior, depression, friendship problems, and deviant friends was collected at baseline and at a 3-year follow-up.

Results

Having deviant friends was a better predictor of suicidality than having friendship problems, with variability by sex and ethnicity. Having deviant friends predicted suicidal ideation among Mexican-American adolescents. Having friends who were disconnected from school was a risk factor for suicidal ideation among European-American adolescents but a protective factor for suicidal behavior among Mexican-American adolescents, especially boys. Depression played more of a mediating role between friendship factors and suicidality for European-American than for Mexican-American adolescents.

Conclusions

This study’s findings suggest an influence of adolescents’ deviant friends on suicidality 3 years later. They also call for the cultural and gender grounding of suicide theory, research and prevention.

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Notes

  1. The term “suicidality” refers to suicidal ideation and/or behavior. “Nonfatal suicidal behavior” (in lieu of "suicide attempts") refers to suicidal acts that a person survived, and "suicide" (in lieu of "completed or successful suicide”) to suicidal acts that resulted in death. This terminology avoids the problematic message, implicit in traditional terminology that surviving a suicidal act represents a failure and, conversely, that killing oneself is a success (see Canetto [5], Canetto and Lester [7] for an analysis of suicidal behavior terminology).

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Acknowledgments

The data for this study came from a study funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse via Research Grant No. NIDA DA 06293, awarded to Ernest L. Chavez and his collaborators. The authors thank Ernest L. Chavez for access to the data, and for comments on early versions of this study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, University of Wisconsin Oshkosh, 800 Algoma Blvd, Oshkosh, WI, USA

    Erin Winterrowd

  2. Department of Psychology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA

    Silvia Sara Canetto

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  1. Erin Winterrowd
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  2. Silvia Sara Canetto
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Correspondence to Erin Winterrowd.

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Winterrowd, E., Canetto, S.S. The long-lasting impact of adolescents’ deviant friends on suicidality: a 3-year follow-up perspective. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol 48, 245–255 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00127-012-0529-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00127-012-0529-2

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