374 - Parent Maltreatment History: Investigating Youth’s Suicidal Thoughts and Behaviors

Publication Number: 374.6013

Jenson P. Rowan, Golisano Children's Hospital at The University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, NY, United States; Paige Picou, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, Rochester, NY, United States; Dakota Daniels, Golisano Children's Hospital at The University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, NY, United States; Rachel Missell-Gray, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, Rochester, NY, United States; Allan B. Shikh, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, Rochester, NY, United States; Arielle H. Sheftall, University of Rochester Medical Center, ROCHESTER, NY, United States

Background: Suicide is the second leading cause of death for youth aged 10-14 years. Prior research shows parents’ maltreatment history (PMH) as a risk factor for adverse child mental health; however, limited studies examined suicidal behaviors.

Objective: This study aims to investigate childhood suicidal behaviors and PMH. We hypothesized that children with suicidal ideation (SI) and suicide attempts (SA) will have higher reports of PMH, externalizing problems (EP), internalizing problems (IP), and parental emotion regulation difficulties (P-ERD).

Design/Methods: The sample included N=212 children, 6-11 years, from two metropolitan areas. 51 participants were excluded due to data concerns or ineligibility. The final sample was n=161 with 49.1% biological male, 52.2% identified as White, 35.4% Black, and 90.1% identified as Non-Hispanic. Parents/children reported SA and SI via the Columbia-Suicide Severity Rating Scale (C-SSRS). Parents completed the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) for IP and EP, Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ) for PMH, and the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS) for P-ERD. GPower indicated N=118 to have adequate power (.80), which our sample exceeded. Independent t-tests, chi-squares, and exploratory stepwise logistic regression analyses were conducted.

Results: SA youth were more likely to be older (M=8.88 vs M=7.88; t=2.54, p=.01) and male (x=7.36, p=.007). SA was associated with more parental history of physical (t=2.55, p=.01) and total neglect (t=2.03, p=.04) , more IP (t=2.77, p=.01) and EP (t=4.98, p=.01), and less DERS goals (t= -2.10, p =.04), nonacceptance (t= -2.51, p=.01), and total score (t= -2.32, p=.02). Youth SI was associated with more parental history of total abuse (t=1.99, p=.05), more IP (t=5.46, p <.001) and EP (t=6.36, p<.001). For SA regression, age (OR=1.83, 95% CI 1.06-3.18), sex (OR=0.12, 95% CI 0.02-.72), DERS Total Score (OR=0.82, 95% CI 0.72-0.93), EP (OR=1.09, 95% CI 1.02-1.17), and CTQ Total Neglect (OR=1.12, 95% CI 1.02-1.23) were significant. For the SI regression, child’s EP (OR=1.08, 95% CI 1.03-1.23) and IP (OR=1.08, 95% CI 1.01-1.15) were significant.

Conclusion(s): This study revealed childhood SI and SA relate to PMH and the child’s EP and IP. Different types of parental maltreatment correlated with childhood SI and SA which illustrates the need to screen for subtypes of PMH when assessing children’s risk. SA relating to DERS suggests a significant role P-ERD may play in children’s high-risk behaviors. Further research is needed to gain a better understanding of these associations longitudinally.

Table 1. Demographic and Clinical Characteristics of Children without (SI-) and with (SI+) SI Status


Table 2. Demographic Characteristics of Children without (SA-) and with (SA+) SA Status


Table 3. Bivariate Logistic Regression Model for Predicting Child Lifetime Suicide Ideation and Suicide Attempt Status