Incarcerated Adolescents' Distress and Suicidality in Relation to Parental Bonding Styles

Crisis ◽  
1999 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
pp. 164-170 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth L McGarvey ◽  
Ludmila A Kryzhanovskaya ◽  
Cheryl Koopman ◽  
Dennis Waite ◽  
Randolph J Canterbury
Keyword(s):  
At Risk ◽  
Attachment Theory ◽  
Suicidal Behavior ◽  
Parental Bonding ◽  
Psychosocial Problems ◽  
Self Esteem ◽  
Suicidal Thoughts ◽  
Parental Bonding Instrument ◽  
Significant Relationships ◽  
Incarcerated Adolescents

This study examines the relationships between the bonding style of an incarcerated adolescent with parents and his/her current feelings of self-esteem, hopelessness, and suicidal thoughts and attempts. It also investigates differences between bonding to mother and bonding to father. Some 296 incarcerated adolescents were interviewed using the Parental Bonding Instrument. Significant relationships were found between youths' self-esteem, hopelessness, and suicidal behavior and their bonding style. Youths whose parent(s) had a parental bonding style of affectionless control reported the greatest distress, and youths whose parent(s) had an optimal bonding style reported the least distress. Differences were found between bonding styles with the mother and with the father. Attachment theory may be useful in targeting incarcerated youths who have affectionless control bonding with parent(s) for special interventions since these youths are most at risk for psychosocial problems.

The role of brain-derived neurotrophic factor in the pathophysiology of adolescent suicidal behavior

2011 ◽  
Vol 23 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Leo Sher
Keyword(s):  
At Risk ◽  
Psychiatric Disorders ◽  
Suicidal Behavior ◽  
Neurotrophic Factor ◽  
Adolescent Suicide ◽  
Developmental Change ◽  
Brain Derived Neurotrophic Factor ◽  
Childhood And Adolescence ◽  
Compulsive Disorder

Abstract Adolescent suicide research has mostly focused on demographic risk factors. Such studies focus on who is at risk, but do not explain why certain adolescents are at risk for suicide. Studies of the neurobiology of adolescent suicide could clarify why some youths are more suicidal than others and help to find biological markers of suicidal behavior in teenagers. Over the past decade the role of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in the pathophysiology of suicidal behavior has attracted significant attention of scientists. BDNF is involved in the pathophysiology of many psychiatric disorders associated with suicidal behavior including depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, schizophrenia, and obsessive-compulsive disorder. BDNF dysregulation could be associated with increased suicidality independently of psychiatric diagnoses. BDNF plays an important role in the regulation and growth of neurons during childhood and adolescence. Prominent among the brain regions undergoing developmental change during adolescence are stressor-sensitive areas. The serotonin dysfunction found in adolescent and adult suicidal behavior could be related to the low level of BDNF, which impedes the normal development of serotonin neurons during brain development. BDNF dysfunction could play a more significant role in the pathophysiology of psychiatric disorders and suicidal behavior in adolescents than in adults. Treatment-induced enhancement in the BDNF function could reduce suicidal behavior secondary to the improvement in psychiatric pathology or independently of improvement in psychiatric disorders. It is interesting to hypothesize that BDNF could be a biological marker of suicidal behavior in adolescents or in certain adolescent populations.

scholarly journals Measuring attachment and parental bonding in psychosis and its clinical implications

2014 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 142-149 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Mathews ◽  
J. Onwumere ◽  
S. Bissoli ◽  
M. Ruggeri ◽  
E. Kuipers ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Attachment Theory ◽  
Attachment Style ◽  
Attachment Styles ◽  
Parental Bonding ◽  
Insecure Attachment ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Clinical Implications ◽  
Term Outcome ◽  
Long Term Outcome

Background.Attachment theory proposes that psychological functioning and affect regulations are influenced by the attachment we form with others. Early relationships with parents or caregivers lay the foundations for attachment styles. These styles are proposed to influence how we relate to others during our life can be modified by the relationships and events we experience in our lifespan. A secure attachment style is associated with a capacity to manage distress, comfort with autonomy and the ability to form relationships with others, whereas insecure attachment can lead to dysfunctional relationships, emotional and behaviour avoidance. Attachment theory provides a useful framework to inform our understanding of relationship difficulties in people with psychosis. This paper aims to complement recent systematic reviews by providing an overview of attachment theory, its application to psychosis, including an understanding of measurement issues and the clinical implications offered.Method.A narrative review was completed of the measures of attachment and parental bonding in psychosis. Its clinical implications are also discussed. The paper also explores the link between insecure attachment styles and illness course, social functioning and symptomatology. The following questions are addressed: What are the key attachment measures that have been used within the attachment and psychosis literature? What are the results of studies that have measured attachment or parental bonding in psychosis and what clinical implications can we derive from it? What are some of the key questions for future research from these findings in relation to the onset of psychosis research field?Results.The most commonly used measures of attachment in psychosis research are reviewed. Self-report questionnaires and semi-structured interviews have mainly been used to examine attachment styles in adult samples and in recent years comprise a measure specifically developed for a psychosis group. The review suggests that insecure attachment styles are common in psychosis samples. Key relationships were observed between insecure, avoidant and anxious attachment styles and psychosis development, expression and long-term outcome.Conclusions.Attachment theory can provide a useful framework to facilitate our understanding of interpersonal difficulties in psychosis that may predate its onset and impact on observed variability in outcomes, including treatment engagement. Greater attention should be given to the assessment of attachment needs and to the development of interventions that seek to compensate for these difficulties. However, further investigations are required on specifying the exact mechanisms by which specific attachment styles impact on the development of psychosis and its course.

Future direction of suicidal risk assessment

2016 ◽  
Vol 33 (S1) ◽  
pp. S68-S68
Author(s):  
H. Blasco-Fontecilla
Keyword(s):  
At Risk ◽  
Suicidal Behavior ◽  
Suicidal Risk ◽  
Sources Of Information ◽  
Future Directions ◽  
Suicide Prediction ◽  
Competing Interest ◽  
Future Direction ◽  
Near Future ◽  
Subjective Reports

Objectiveto explore future directions on the assessment of the risk of suicidal behavior (SB).Methodsnarrative review of current and future methods to improving the assessment of the risk of suicidal behavior (SB).ResultsPredicting future SB is a long-standing goal. Currently, the identification of individuals at risk of SB is based on clinician's subjective reports. Unfortunately, most individuals at risk of SB often do not disclose their suicidal thoughts. In the near future, predicting the risk of SB will be enhanced by: (1) introducing objective, reliable measures – i.e. biomarkers – of suicide risk; (2) selecting the most discriminant variables, and developing more accurate measures – i.e. questionnaires – and models for suicide prediction; (3) incorporating new sources of information – i.e. facebook, online monitoring; (4) applying novel methodological instruments such as data mining, or computer adaptive testing; and, (5) most importantly, combining predictors from different domains (clinical, neurobiological and cognitive).ConclusionsGiven the multi-determined nature of SB, a combination of clinical, neuropsychological, biological, and neuroimaging factors, among other might help overcome current limitations in the prediction of SB. Furthermore, given the complexity of prediction of future SB, currently our efforts should be focused on the prevention of SB.Disclosure of interestThe author has not supplied his declaration of competing interest.

scholarly journals Testing brief intervention and phone contact among subjects with suicidal behavior: a randomized controlled trial in French Polynesia in the frames of the World Health Organization/Suicide Trends in At-Risk Territories study

2015 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Stéphane Amadéo ◽  
Moerani Rereao ◽  
Aurelia Malogne ◽  
Patrick Favro ◽  
Ngoc Lam Nguyen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
At Risk ◽  
World Health Organization ◽  
Brief Intervention ◽  
Suicidal Behavior ◽  
French Polynesia ◽  
World Health ◽  
Suicidal Behaviors ◽  
The World ◽  
Health Organization

The World Health Organization <em>Suicide trends in at-risk territories</em> study is a multi-site regional research program operating first in French Polynesia and countries of the Western Pacific, then extended to the world. The aims of the study were to establish a monitoring system for suicidal behaviors and to conduct a randomised control trial intervention for non-fatal suicidal behaviors. The latter part is the purpose of the present article. Over the period 2008-2010, 515 patients were admitted at the Emergency Department of the Centre Hospitalier de Polynésie Française for suicidal behavior. Those then hospitalized in the Psychiatry Emergency Unit were asked to be involved in the study and randomly allocated to either Treatment As Usual (TAU) or TAU plus Brief Intervention and Contact (BIC), which provides a psycho-education session and a follow-up of 9 phone contacts over an 18-months period. One hundred persons were assigned to TAU, while 100 participants were allocated to the BIC group. At the end of the follow-up there were no significant differences between the two groups in terms of number of presentations to the hospital for repeated suicidal behaviors. Although the study could not demonstrate the superiority of a treatment over the other, nevertheless – given its importance – the investigation captured public attention and was able to contribute to the awareness of the need of suicide prevention in French Polynesia. The BIC model of intervention seemed to particularly suit the geographical and health care context of the country.

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