The present article is aimed at delineating the effects of specific types of parental marital structure on completed adolescent suicide. Parental types showing incongruency between individuation and attachment are more highly associated with adolescent suicidal behavior than are those showing congruency between these two life factors. These results emerge both in a literature review of some eighty-five studies and in an independently conducted study on completed adolescent suicide.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
FarberowN. L. and SimonM. D., Suicides in Los Angeles and Vienna—An Inter-cultural Study of Two Cities, Public Health Reports, 84, pp. 389–402, 1969.
2.
TsuangM. T., Risk of Suicide in the Relatives of Schizophrenics, Manics, Depressives, and Controls, American Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, 44, pp. 396–400, 1983.
3.
EgelandJ. A.SussexJ. A. and SussexJ. N., Suicide and Family Loading for Affective Disorder, Journal of American Medical Association, 254, pp. 915–918, 1985.
4.
PittsF. and WinokurO., Affective Disorder: III. Diagnostic Correlates and Incidents of Suicide, Journal of Nervous Mental Disease, 139, pp. 176–181, 1964.
5.
RoyA., Early Parental Loss in Depressive Neurosis Compared with Other Neurosis, Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, 25, pp. 503–505, 1980.
6.
RoyA., Family History of Suicide, Archives of General Psychiatry, 40, pp. 971–974, 1983.
7.
DurkheimE., Suicide, Free Press, New York, 1951 (Original work published 1897).
8.
FreudS., Mourning and Melancholia, in The Standard Edition of the Complete Psychological Works, 14, Horgarth Press, London, pp. 237–258, 1957 (Original work published 1917).
9.
HeilligR. J., Adolescent Suicidal Behavior: A Family Systems Perspective. Dissertation Abstracts International, Vol. 40 (12) 5813–B, 1980.
10.
HaimA., Adolescent Suicide, International Universities Press, New York, 1970.
11.
StierlinH., Separating Parents and Adolescents: A Perspective on Running Away, Schizophrenia and Waywardness, Quadrangle/New York Times, New York, 1974.
12.
HolingerP., Violent Death among the Young: Recent Trends in Suicide, Homicide and Accidents, American Journal of Psychiatry, 139, pp. 302–307, 1979.
13.
National Center for Health Statistics, 1987.
14.
FinchS. M. and PoznanskiE. O., Adolescent Suicide, Charles G. Thomas Publishers, Springfield, Illinois, 1971.
15.
AinsworthM. D. S., Attachment and Dependency: A Comparison, in Attachment and Dependency, GerwitzS. (ed.), V. H. Winston & Sons, Washington, D.C., pp. 97–137, 1972.
16.
BrazeltonT. B.KoslawskiB., and MainM., The Origins of Reciprocity: The Early Mother-infant Interaction, in The Effects of the Infant on Its Caregiver, LewisM. and RosenblumL. A. (eds.), Wiley, New York, 1974.
17.
SternD., The First Relationship: Mother and Infant, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1977.
18.
MainM., Analysis of a Peculiar Form of Reunion Behavior Seen in Some Day-care Children Who are Home-reared, in Social Development in Daycare, WebbR. (ed.), John Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, Maryland, 1973.
19.
HoffmanM. L., Moral Internalization: Current Theory and Research, in Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, (Vol. 10), BerkowitzL. (ed.), Academic Press, New York, 1977.
20.
ArendD.GoveF., and SroufeL. A., Continuity of Individual Adaptation from Infancy to Kindergarten: A Predictive Study of Ego Resiliency and Curiosity in Preschoolers, Child Development, 50, pp. 950–959, 1979.
21.
EriksonE., Identity: Youth and Crisis, W. W. Norton, New York, 1968.
22.
EriksonE., Identity and the Life Cycle, W. W. Norton, New York, 1980.
23.
KaplanK. J., TILT: Teaching Individuals to Live Together, Transactional Analysis Journal, 18, pp. 220–230, 1988.
24.
KaplanK. J. and MaldaverM., Parental Marital Pathology and Completed Adolescent Suicide: An Empirical Study, paper presented at the meetings of the International Association for Suicide Prevention, Brussels, Belgium, June 1989.
25.
KaplanK. J., TILT for Couples: Helping Couples Grow Together. Transactional Analysis Journal, 20, pp. 229–244, 1990.
26.
KaplanK. J. and O'ConnorN. A., From Mistrust to Trust: Through a Stage Vertically, to appear in The Course of Life, Vol. 6, GreenspanS. I. and PollockG. H. (eds.), International Universities Press, New York.
27.
JourardS. M. and FriedmanR., Experimenter-subject Distance and Self-disclosure. Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 15, pp. 278–282, 1970.
28.
MinuchinS., Families and Family Therapy, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1974.
29.
OlsonD.SprenkleD., and RussellC., Circumplex Model of Marital and Family Systems: I. Cohesion and Adaptability Dimensions, Family Types, and Clinical Implications, Family Process, 18, pp. 3–28, 1979.
30.
NapierA. Y., The Rejection-intrusion Pattern: A Central Family Dynamic, Journal of Marriage and Family Counseling4, pp. 5–12, 1978.
31.
WilliJ., Couples in Collusion, Jason Aronson, New York, 1982.
32.
CorderB. B.PageP. V., and CorderR. F., Parental History: Family Communication and Interaction Patterns in Adolescent Suicide, Family Therapy, 1, pp. 285–290, 1974.
33.
McIntireM. S. and AngleC. R., Psychological “Biopsy” in Self-poisoning of Children and Adolescents, American Journal of Diseases of Children, 126, pp. 42–46, 1973.
34.
ParnitzkeC. and RegelH., Self-destruction of Minors Caused by Social Disintegration, Psychiatrie Neurologie and Medizinische Psychogie, 25, pp. 606–614, 1973.
35.
ChiaB. H., Suicide of the Young in Singapore, Annals of the Academy of Medicine, 8, pp. 262–268, 1979.
36.
SathavathiK., Suicide among Children in Bangalore, Indian Journal of Pediatrics, 42, pp. 149–157, 1975.
37.
GarfinkelB. D.FroeseM. D. and, HoodJ., Suicide Attempts in Children and Adolescents, American Journal of Psychiatry, 139, pp. 1257–1261, 1982.
38.
HillM. N., Suicidal Behavior in Adolescents and its Relationship to the Lack of Parental Empathy, Dissertation Abstracts International, 31, p. 472, 1970.
39.
RichmanJ., Symbiosis, Empathy, Suicidal Behavior, and the Family, Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior, 8, pp. 139–149, 1978.
40.
LitmanR. E. and TabachnikN. D., Psychoanalytic Theories of Suicide, in Suicidal Behaviors, Diagnosis and Management, ResnickH. L. P. (ed.), Little, Brown & Co., Boston, pp. 73–81, 1968.
41.
WoldC. I., Some Syndromes Among Suicidal People: The Problem of Suicide Potentiality, paper presented at the annual meetings of the American Psychological Association, San Francisco, August 1968.
42.
WoldC. I., Characteristics of 26,000 Suicide-prevention Center Patients, Bulletin of Suicidology, 6, pp. 24–28, 1970.
43.
Sarwer-FonerG. J., Depression and Suicide: On Some Particularly High Risk Suicidal Patients, Diseases of the Nervous System, 30, pp. 104–110, 1969.
44.
Boszormenyi-NagyI. and SparkG. D., Invisible Loyalties: Reciprocity in Intergenerational Family Therapy, Harper and Row, New York, 1973.
45.
CassorlaR., Family Characteristics of Youngsters who Attempted Suicide in the City of Campinas, Acta Psiquiatrica Y Psicologica de America Latina, 30, pp. 125–134, 1984.
46.
FriedmanR. C.CornR.HurtS. W.FebelB.SchalickJ., and SwirskyS., Family History of Illness in the Seriously Suicidal Adolescent: A Life-cycle Approach, American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 54, pp. 390–397, 1984.
47.
HousmanR. K., The Relationship Between Suicidal Behavior in Female Adolescents and the Lack of Empathic Capacity and Differentiation on the Part of the Mothers, Dissertation Abstracts, Vol. 42 (6–8), p. 2390, 1981.
48.
WenzF. W., Economic Status, Family Anomie, and Adolescence Suicide Potential, Journal of Psychology, 98, pp. 45–47, 1981.
49.
McKenryP. C.TishlerC. L. and KellyC., Adolescent Suicide: A Comparison of Attempters and Nonattempters in an Emergency Room Population, Clinical Behavior, 21, pp. 266–270, 1982.
50.
WenzF. W., Family Constellation Factors, Depression and Parent Suicidal Potential, American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 49, pp. 164–167, 1979.
51.
PfefferC. R., The Family System of Suicidal Children, American Journal of Psychotherapy, 35, pp. 330–334, 1981.
52.
KoskyR., Childhood Suicidal Behavior, Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry and Allied Disciplines, 24, pp. 457–568, 1983.
53.
BernS. L., The Measurement of Psychological Androgyny, Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 42, pp. 155–162, 1974.
54.
MoosR. and MoosB., Family Environment Scale Manual (Second Edition), Consulting Psychologists Press, Palo Alto, California, 1986.
55.
OlsonD. H. and CraddockA. E., Circumplex Model of Marital and Family Systems: Application to Australian Families, Australian Journal of Sex, Marriage and Family, 1, pp. 53–69, 1980.
56.
OlsonD. H. and McCubbinH. I., Circumplex Model of Marital and Family Systems V: Applications to Family Stress, Coping, and Social Support, Charles C. Thomas Publishers, Springfield, Illinois, 1982.
57.
OlsonD. H.RussellC. S. and SprenkleD. H., Circumplex Model VI: Theoretical Update, Family Process, 22, pp. 69–83, 1983.
58.
SpanierG. B., Measuring Dyadic Adjustment, New Scales for Assessing the Quality of Marriage and Similar Dyads, Journal of Marriage and the Family, 38, pp. 15–28, 1976.
59.
TermanL., Psychological Factors in Marital Happiness, McGraw Hill Book Company, New York, 1938.
60.
LockeH. J., Predicting Marital Adjustment by Comparing a Divorced and Happily Married Group, American Sociological Review, 12, pp. 187–191, 1947.
61.
LockeH. J. and WallaceK. M., Short Marital Adjustment and Prediction Tests: Their Reliability and Validity, Marriage and Family Living, 21, pp. 251–255, 1959.
62.
AchenbachT. M. and EdelbrockC., Manual for the Child Behavior Profile, University of Vermont, Burlington, Vermont, 1983.
63.
McCubbinH. J.PattersonJ. M.BaumanE. and HarrisL. H., A-FILE, University of Minnesota Press, St. Paul, 1981.
64.
BrentD. A.PerperJ. A.GoldsteinC. E.KolkoD. J.AllenM. J.AllmanC. J., and ZelenakJ. P., Risk Factors for Adolescent Suicide, Archives of General Psychiatry, 45, pp. 581–588, 1988.
65.
FowlerR. D.RichC. L., and YoungD., San Diego Suicide Study II, Substance Abuse in Young Cases, Archives of General Psychiatry, 43, pp. 962–965, 1986.
66.
GarfinkelB. D. and GolombekH., Suidical Behavior in Adolescence, in The Adolescent and Mood Disturbance, GolombekH. and GarfinkelB. D. (eds.), International University Press, New York, 1986.
67.
ShafiiM.CarriganS.WhittinghillJ. R., and DerrickA., Psychological Autopsy of Completed Suicides in Children and Adolescents, American Journal of Psychiatry, 142, pp. 1061–1064, 1985.
68.
RichC. L.YoungD., and FowlerR. C., San Diego Study: I, Young Versus Old Subjects, Archives of General Psychiatry, 43, pp. 577–582, 1986.
69.
OttoU., Suidical Acts by Children and Adolescents, Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, Supplement 233, 1972.
70.
BlackD. W.WinokurG., and NasrallahA., Suicide in Subtypes of Major Affective Disorder, A Comparison with General Population Suicide Mortality, Archives of General Psychiatry, 44, pp. 878–880, 1987.
71.
MurphyG. E. and RobinsE., Social Factors in Suicide, Journal of the American Medical Association, 199, pp. 3033–3038, 1967.
72.
MurphyG. E.ArmstrongJ. W.HermeleS. L.FisherJ. R., and ClendenimW. W., Suicide and Alcoholism: Interpersonal Loss Confirmed as a Predictor, Archives of General Psychiatry, 36, pp. 65–69, 1979.
73.
VirkunerM., Alcoholism and Suicides in Helsinki, Psychiatric Fenn, pp. 201–207, 1971.
74.
AinsworthM. D. S., Infant-mother Attachment, American Psychologist, 34, pp. 932–937, 1979.
75.
BowlbyJ., The Making and Breaking of Affectional Bonds: Etiology and Psycho-pathology in the Light of Attachment Theory, British Journal of Psychiatry, 130, pp. 201–210, 1977.
76.
SroufeL. A. and WatersE., Attachment as an Organizational Construct, Child Development, 48, pp. 1184–1199, 1977.
77.
ShafferD., Suicide in Childhood and Early Adolescence, Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 15, pp. 275–291, 1974.
78.
WestermeyerJ. F. and HarrowM. C., Early Phases of Schizophrenia and Depression: Prediction of Suicide, in Depression in Schizophrenia, WilliamsR. and DalbyT. (eds.), Plenum Publishing Company, New York, 1989.
79.
LaingR. D. and EstersonR. D., Sanity, Madness and the Family, Penguin Books, New York, 1970.
80.
BorstS. and NoamG., A Clinical-developmental Approach to Suicidality in Adolescence, presented at the Biennial Meeting of the Society for Research in Adolescence, Atlanta, Georgia, March 1990.
81.
ShafferD. and FisherP., The Epidemiology of Suicide in Children and Young Adolescents, Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 20, pp. 545–565, 1981.
82.
BarracloughB. M.BunchJ.NelsonB., and SainsburyP., A Hundred Cases of Suicide, British Journal of Psychiatry, 125, pp. 355–373, 1969.
83.
CainA. C. and FastI., Children's Disturbed Reaction to Parent Suicide, American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 36, pp. 873–880, 1966.
84.
JacobsS. and TeicherJ. P., Broken Homes and Social Isolation in Attempted Suicides of Adolescents, International Journal of Social Psychiatry, 13, pp. 139–149, 1967.
85.
MorrisonG. C. and CollierJ. G., Family Treatment Approaches to Suicidal Children and Adolescents, Journal of American Academy of Child Psychiatry, 8, pp. 140–153, 1969.
86.
JacobsJ., Adolescent Suicide, Wiley-Interscience, New York, 1971.
87.
RiegerW., Suicide Attempts in a Federal Prison, Archives of General Psychiatry, 24, pp. 532–535, 1971.
88.
MossL. M. and HamiltonD. M., Psychotherapy of the Suicidal Patient, in Clues to Suicide, ShneidmanE. S. and FarberowN. L., (eds.), McGraw-Hill, New York, pp. 89–100, 1957.
89.
RichmanJ., Suicide and the Family Affective Disturbances and Their Implications for Understanding Diagnosis and Treatment, in Family Therapy and Major Psycho-pathology, LanekyM. R. (ed.), Gruneistratton, New York, 1981.
90.
SoutreE., Completed Suicides and Traffic Accidents: Longitudinal Analysis in France, Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, 77, pp. 530–534, 1988.
91.
AndreasonN.EndicottJ.SpitzerR., and WinokurG., The Family History Method Using Research Diagnostic Criteria: Reliability and Validity, Archives of General Psychiatry, 34, pp. 1229–1235, 1977.
92.
ShafferD. and GouldM., Study of Completed and Attempted Suicides in Adolescents, Progress Report: National Institute of Mental Health, 1987.
