Perceived Peer and Family Relationships,Hopelessness and Locus of Control as Factors in Adolescent Suicide Attempts

ABSTRACT: Thirty hospitalized suicidal adolescents were compared with thirty-four hospitalized nonsuicidal teenagers and thirty-five nonhospitalized coping youngsters (controls) on the extent of their problems, their perceptions of peer and family relationships, degree of hopelessness, and locus of control. Suicidals were found to experience the greatest total number of problems, nonsuicidals the next most, and controls the fewest. Significantly more peer problems differentiated the suicidals from the other two groups, while serious family problems discriminated the three groups from each other. The controls viewed their families as the most well-adjusted, followed by the nonsuicidals, while the suicidals felt their families were the most maladjusted. Suicide attempters experienced a significantly greater degree of hopelessness than all the nonattempters, and significantly more external locus of control than the controls. Some sex differences emerged in the study.