Communication with Parents As a Predictor of Suicidal Ideation through Young Adulthood: Evidence from Nationally Representative Longitudinal Data

Research aims: Parent-child connectedness (PCC) has been shown repeatedly as a protective factor for suicidal ideation and suicide attempt. The importance of examining the role of connectedness on suicidal ideation and attempt is reflected by the CDC’s strategic initiative on social connectedness as a strategy for suicide prevention. PCC includes elements such as warmth, attachment, and communication between the parent and child. Research has examined elements related to warmth, caring, and closeness; few studies have focused on the role of parent-child communication from a longitudinal, developmental perspective. This study examined the relationship between satisfaction in communication with parents during adolescence and risk of suicidal ideation into early adulthood among a nationally representative sample of American adolescents.

Method: The study consists of 8,873 respondents ages 11-18 with at least one parent in the first wave (1994) from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health) conducted between 1994 and 2009. Respondents were classified into four groups based on their satisfaction in communication with their parent(s) in the first wave.  Serious suicidal ideation in the past 12 months was assessed at four time points. An autoregressive logistic regression model was conducted to provide an estimate of the association between satisfaction in parent-child communication and suicidal ideation.

Results: Thirty percent of respondents who reported satisfactory communication with neither parent during childhood/adolescence experienced suicidal ideation at Time 1 (1994-1995), 21 % at Time 2 (1996), 10% at Time 3 (2001-2002), and 10% at Time 4 (2007-2009). This was in contrast to 9%, 9%, 6%, and 5% across Time 1, 2, 3, and 4, respectively, among those who were satisfied with communication with both parents. After adjusting for prior suicidal ideation, depressive symptoms, and other variables, a statistically significant protective association with ideation was found for adolescents who reported satisfaction in communication with both parents. More specifically, adolescents who reported satisfaction in communication with both parents were 42% less likely to report suicidal ideation than those who were unsatisfied in communication with their parents (AOR = 0.58, 95% CI= 0.50, 0.69). The protective association with both parent groups continued to be statistically significant after further adjustment for sociodemographic characteristics, adolescent psychosocial factors, parent/family characteristics, and friends/teachers characteristics (AOR = 0.81, 95% CI= 0.66, 0.99). 

Conclusions: Improving quality of parent-child communication during child/adolescence should be considered an important area for intervention along with other initiatives to foster PCC.