Original articleVictimization, Suicidal Ideation, and Alcohol Use From Age 13 to 15 Years: Support for the Self-Medication Model
Section snippets
Peer victimization and suicidal ideation and behavior
Most studies that have examined the link between peer victimization and suicide ideation or behavior are cross sectional and found greater association of suicide ideation and attempts in adolescents who reported being bullied or victimized. For a comprehensive review on the subject, see the study by Kim and Leventhal [10].
Most prospective studies have tested a link that presumes a direction going from peer earlier victimization to later suicidal behaviors or thoughts. For instance, in one
Participants
The adolescents come from a longitudinal study for which participants were randomly selected at birth in 1996 from the Québec birth registry. Five hundred and seventy-two of 1,000 families contacted participated in the first wave of the study (see Table 1 for more sociodemographic information concerning these 572 families). The Louis-Hippolyte Lafontaine Hospital and the Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Sainte-Justine Research Center ethics committees approved this project. Children were first
Descriptive statistics
Of the 238 participants, 10% (14 girls, 6 boys) reported suicidal ideation at 13 years, 13% (13 girls, 8 boys) at 14 years, and 15% (21 girls, 3 boys) at 15 years. Mean scores for peer victimization remained relatively constant from 13 years (M = 9.6, SD = 2.7), to 14 years (M = 9.2, SD = 2.4), to 15 years (M = 9.2, SD = 2.3), whereas mean frequency of alcohol use increased significantly between ages 13 and 15 years (t = 5.11, p < .001): from 1.5 (SD = 1.0) at 13 years, to 2.2 (SD = 1.4) at
Discussion
The main objective for this study was to examine the longitudinal associations between peer victimization, suicide ideation, and alcohol use in adolescence, to clarify which developmental models (i.e., self-medication, secondary mental disorder, bidirectional, or the common factor) were best supported empirically. A general cross-lagged approach was used, which allowed us to test simultaneously all the paths proposed by the four models. Results revealed a significant developmental sequence
Acknowledgments
The authors are grateful to their partner, the Institut de la Statistique du Québec. They thank all the parents and children for their generous participation in the study.
The first draft was written by Shawn Marschall-Lévesque.
References (40)
- et al.
Bullying and suicide: A public health approach
J Adolesc Health
(2013) - et al.
Longitudinal and reciprocal relations of cyberbullying with depression, substance use, and problematic Internet use among adolescents
J Adolesc Health
(2013) - et al.
Victimization from mental and physical bullying and substance use in early adolescence
Addict Behaviors
(2009) - et al.
Childhood bullying behaviors as a risk for suicide attempts and completed suicides: A population-based birth cohort study
J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry
(2009) - et al.
Associations between peer victimization and suicidal ideation and suicide attempt during adolescence: Results from a prospective population-based birth cohort
J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry
(2016) - et al.
Injection drug use is associated with suicide attempts but not ideation or plans in a sample of adolescents with depressive symptoms
J Psychiatr Res
(2014) - et al.
Adolescent alcohol use development and young adult outcomes
Drug and Alcohol Dependence
(1997) - et al.
Longitudinal associations of cannabis and illicit drug use with depression, suicidal ideation and suicidal attempts among Nova Scotia high school students
Drug and Alcohol Dependence
(2013) - et al.
Truth and consequences: Ethics, confidentiality, and disclosure in adolescent longitudinal prevention research
J Adolesc Health
(2003) - et al.
Moderators of the association between peer and target adolescent substance use
Addict Behaviors
(2014)
Is it valid to measure suicidal ideation by depression rating scales?
J Affect Disord
Risk factors and life processes associated with the onset of suicidal behaviour during adolescence and early adulthood
Psychol Med
Adolescent bullying victimisation and alcohol-related problem behaviour mediated by coping drinking motives over a 12 month period
Addict Behaviors
Cyberbullying victimization and mental health in adolescents and the moderating role of family dinners
Jama Pediatr
The self-medication hypothesis of substance use disorders: A reconsideration and recent applications
Harv Rev Psychiatry
Suicidal behavior and alcohol abuse
Int J Environ Res Public Health
A tale of two systems: Co-occurring mental health and substance abuse disorders treatment for adolescents
Annu Rev Psychol
Bullying and suicide. A review
Int J Adolesc Med Health
Involvement in bullying and suicidal ideation in middle adolescence: A 2-year follow-up study
Eur Child Adolesc Psychiatry
Bullying increased suicide risk: Prospective study of Korean adolescents
Arch Suicide Res
Cited by (33)
Bidirectional longitudinal relationships between victimization, resilience and suicidal ideation of adolescents
2023, Children and Youth Services ReviewAssociations between tobacco and alcohol use and aggressive behavior among adolescents in 55 Low- and Middle-Income countries
2023, Journal of Affective DisordersPeer victimization and health among children and adolescents
2023, Encyclopedia of Child and Adolescent Health, First EditionLongitudinal associations throughout adolescence: Suicidal ideation, disturbing dreams, and internalizing symptoms
2022, Sleep MedicineCitation Excerpt :with the following measurement scale “Never,” “Rarely,” “Quite often,” “Very often,” “Don't know,” or “Does not apply.” This question has been extensively validated in other studies [62–65]. Given the non-normality of responses to this item, it was dichotomized with 0 indicating “Absence of suicidal ideation” and 1 indicating “Presence of suicidal ideation.
The interrelationships of child maltreatment, alcohol use, and suicidal ideation among youth living in the slums of Kampala, Uganda
2021, Child Abuse and NeglectCitation Excerpt :The Problem Behavior Theory (PBT) states that youth who engage in substance use, such as alcohol, are at an increased risk for the development of depression, which in turn increases risk of suicidal ideation and suicidal behaviors (Jessor & Jessor, 1977). Additionally, the Secondary Mental Disorder Model states that victimization, including child maltreatment victimization, may lead to alcohol use, which in turn may lead to suicidal ideations (Marschall-Lévesque et al., 2016; Pompili et al., 2010). Several longitudinal studies have demonstrated that alcohol use in adolescence is associated with higher suicidal ideation in early adulthood (Borowsky, Ireland, & Resnick, 2001; Duncan, Alpert, Duncan, & Hops, 1997; Fergusson, Woodward, & Horwood, 2000; Reifman & Windle, 1995).
Social rejection, popularity, peer victimization, and self-injurious thoughts and behaviors among adolescents: A systematic review and meta-analysis
2020, Clinical Psychology ReviewCitation Excerpt :These studies are summarized in Table 3. Of the 19 studies examining the relationship between PV (explicitly including relational victimization) and SI, 16 were included in quantitative analyses yielding 17 unique effect sizes (Ai, Xu, Li, & Li, 2017; Arango, Opperman, Gipson, & King, 2016; Cohen, Shahar, & Klomek, 2020; Felix et al., 2018; Geoffroy et al., 2016; Georgiades et al., 2019; Hatchel, Merrin, & Espelage, 2018; Jones, Bilge-Johnson, Rabinovitch, & Fishel, 2013; Marschall-Lévesque et al., 2017; Meza et al., 2016; Oppenheimer et al., 2020; Roeder & Cole, 2018; C. A. Williams, Doorley, & Esposito-Smythers, 2017; Winsper et al., 2012; Wolff et al., 2014). The weighted OR was 3.05 (95% CI = 2.32–4.02), p < .01, suggesting increased PV was significantly associated with increased SI among adolescents.
Conflicts of Interest: The authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose.
Disclaimer: The study sponsors have no role in the article.