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Journal article

Parent-offspring conflict and cost-benefit analysis in adolescent suicidal behavior

Abstract

Data on birth order and parent-offspring relations for 1,601 adolescents participating in the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health were used to test hypotheses about the role of adolescent suicidal behavior in parent-offspring conflict. Among adolescents highly dissatisfied with their mothers, the odds that middleborns would make at least one suicide attempt was 23% that of first- and lastborns (p<.001), but their odds of receiving medical treatment for their attempts was 8.5 times greater than the odds for first- and lastborns (p=.032). The results are tentatively interpreted as supporting the hypothesis that adolescents use suicide attempts to leverage investment from their parents.

Authors

Andrews PW

Journal

Human Nature, Vol. 17, No. 2, pp. 190–211

Publisher

Springer Nature

Publication Date

August 25, 2006

DOI

10.1007/s12110-006-1017-8

ISSN

1045-6767

Labels

Fields of Research (FoR)

Sustainable Development Goals (SDG)

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