Are suicidal behaviors "contagious" in adolescence
- Dashboard
- Are suicidal behaviors "contagious" in adolescence
Most Recent Score Report
| Questions Correct | Questions Answered | Time Spent | Status | Attempt Date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
Previous Score Reports
| Questions Correct | Questions Answered | Time Spent | Status | Attempt Date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
Are suicidal behaviors "contagious" in adolescence
Array
(
[passage] => WP_Post Object
(
[ID] => 559539
[post_author] => 12815
[post_date] => 2024-12-25 12:59:44
[post_date_gmt] => 2024-12-25 17:59:44
[post_content] => Practice Passage (Question 1-5)
*This passage is the property of Khan Academy and has been reformatted into an AAMC-style interface in their entirety by MedLife Mastery. MedLife Mastery does not endorse and is not an affiliate of Khan Academy.
Social scientists have sought explanations for varying rates of suicide among different populations. In addition to the effects of an individual’s emotions and motives that have been found in some studies, suicides were also associated with a lack of social connections and social integration. In other words, researchers argue that strong social support protects individuals from suicide. In a recent study, researchers set out to examine whether strong social relationships might actually have the opposite effect and have the potential to increase a person’s vulnerability to suicide. In particular, the study examined whether role models’ suicide attempts, especially friends and family, trigger new suicidal thoughts among adolescent individuals.
Data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health) were used to evaluate the above hypothesis. Three separate waves of data were analyzed: Wave I data was collected from 1994 to 1995, Wave II followed in 1996, and Wave III from 2001 to 2002 for a total of 20,745 respondents across the three wave collections. High school students who participated in Waves I and II of the study were selected for analyses of Wave II outcomes, and high school students in Waves I, II, and III were selected for analyses of Wave III outcomes. In addition, the study selected only adolescents with no suicidal thoughts or attempts in Wave I, for a total sample of 9,309 respondents. “Suicidal thoughts” refer to whether respondents ever seriously thought about committing suicide in the past 12 months. Family and friend “suicide attempt” refers to whether any family or friend of the respondent had attempted suicide during the past 12 months. The results are shown in Table 1. For example, from the results we can see that if female high school students experience a family member attempting suicide during the first time period, then they are 2.129 times more likely to report suicidal thoughts at the next time period.
Table 1: Odds ratio from logistic regression models predicting adolescents' suicidal thoughts at Wave II and Wave III
Note: Both models control for 1) background demographic variables such as age, race, parental education, partner preference, grades; 2) social integration variables such as religious participation, family structure, family and friend integration; 3) psychological factors including emotional distress. Asterisk indicates significance.
Data adapted from: S. Abrutyn and A. S. Mueller. (2014). “Are Suicidal Behaviors Contagious in Adolescence? Using Longitudinal Data to Examine Suicide Suggestion". American Sociological Review.
[post_title] => Are suicidal behaviors "contagious" in adolescence
[post_excerpt] =>
[post_status] => publish
[comment_status] => closed
[ping_status] => closed
[post_password] =>
[post_name] => are-suicidal-behaviors-contagious-in-adolescence
[to_ping] =>
[pinged] =>
[post_modified] => 2024-12-25 12:59:44
[post_modified_gmt] => 2024-12-25 17:59:44
[post_content_filtered] =>
[post_parent] => 0
[guid] => https://medlifemastery.com/?post_type=passage&p=559539
[menu_order] => 0
[post_type] => passage
[post_mime_type] =>
[comment_count] => 0
[filter] => raw
)
[questions] => Array
(
[0] => Array
(
[quiz_unique_key] => 602779517
[question] => Which of the findings is accurate according to the data presented in Table 1?
[value] => Array
(
[answer] => 4
[description] => Reason for Correct Answer:
Results with “*” indicate statistical significance.
An odds ratio of 1.561 indicates that girls are 1.561 times more likely to have suicidal thoughts when a friend attempts suicide, compared to when a friend does not attempt suicide.
A significant odds ratio of 1.561 shows that adolescent girls are 1.561 times more likely after experiencing a friend’s suicide attempt at time period I (Wave I) to report suicidal thoughts at time period II (Wave II), controlling for background, social integration, and psychological variables.
)
[answers] => Array
(
[0] => Array
(
[each_answer] => A. The suicide attempt of family members at Wave I significantly affects adolescents of both genders at Wave II.
)
[1] => Array
(
[each_answer] => B. At Wave II, adolescent boys are not significantly affected by friends’ suicidal attempts at Wave I.
)
[2] => Array
(
[each_answer] => C. Taking into account statistical significance, adolescent boys are 1.572 times more likely after experiencing a family member’s suicide attempt at Wave II to report suicidal thoughts at Wave III, controlling for all other variables.
)
[3] => Array
(
[each_answer] => D. Taking into account statistical significance, adolescent girls are 1.561 times more likely after experiencing a friend’s suicide attempt at Wave I to report suicidal thoughts at Wave II, controlling for all other variables.
)
)
)
[1] => Array
(
[quiz_unique_key] => 1403770772
[question] => A comparison of the results from Wave II and Wave III, suggests that which of the following is true?
[value] => Array
(
[answer] => 3
[description] => Reason for Correct Answer:
Results from the models in Wave III are not significant.
Results from the models in Wave II are significant.
Remember, the same group of adolescents is followed.
The changes in significance levels from time period II (Wave II) to time period III (Wave III) demonstrate that suicidal thoughts after a friend or family’s suicide attempts (at Wave I) found in Wave II faded over time (by Wave III).
)
[answers] => Array
(
[0] => Array
(
[each_answer] => A. Adolescent boys at Wave III are more likely to report suicidal behavior than at Wave II if they experienced a family member’s suicidal attempts.
)
[1] => Array
(
[each_answer] => B. At Wave II, no significant gender differences in suicidal thoughts emerged: girls do not appear more sensitive than boys to familial role models.
)
[2] => Array
(
[each_answer] => C. The models from Wave III suggest that the increased risk of suicide thoughts after a friend or family’s suicide attempts found in the short run (Wave II) faded over time.
)
[3] => Array
(
[each_answer] => D. The models from Wave III demonstrate that suicidal attempts and thoughts are contagious among families, friends, and adolescents.
)
)
)
[2] => Array
(
[quiz_unique_key] => 1403770772
[question] => Which of the following is true about the design of this study?
[value] => Array
(
[answer] => 4
[description] => Reason for Correct Answer:
The study is examining what contributes to suicidal thoughts.
Therefore, “suicidal thoughts” is the outcome variable, and suicide attempts of family and friends are explanatory or independent variables.
While there are many independent variables (including suicide attempt), this study looks at only one dependent variable, which is adolescent suicidal thoughts.
)
[answers] => Array
(
[0] => Array
(
[each_answer] => A. There is one independent variable: gender.
)
[1] => Array
(
[each_answer] => B. There are two dependent variables: family suicide attempt and friend suicide attempt.
)
[2] => Array
(
[each_answer] => C. There is one dependent variable: family suicide attempt.
)
[3] => Array
(
[each_answer] => D. There is one dependent variable: suicidal thoughts.
)
)
)
[3] => Array
(
[quiz_unique_key] => 1403770772
[question] => Which conclusion can you draw from the study findings?
[value] => Array
(
[answer] => 1
[description] => Reason for Correct Answer:
The study found that suicidal thoughts had significant associations with the family and friends’ tendencies for suicidal behavior.
The study suggests that the relationships with family/friends who attempt suicide are “strong”.
Therefore, we can draw the conclusion that recent suicide attempts in family members or friends predict an increased risk of suicidal thoughts.
)
[answers] => Array
(
[0] => Array
(
[each_answer] => A. Recent suicide attempts in family members or friends predict an increased risk of suicidal thoughts.
)
[1] => Array
(
[each_answer] => B. The understanding of gendered individual motives is crucial in suicide prevention.
)
[2] => Array
(
[each_answer] => C. Social ties are mechanisms for social support especially for adolescents with suicidal thoughts.
)
[3] => Array
(
[each_answer] => D. Social integration is an important factor in suicide prevention.
)
)
)
[4] => Array
(
[quiz_unique_key] => 1403770772
[question] => In this study, the researchers examined the role of family and friend ties in shaping individual behavior. Which of the following social group would such relationships fall under?
[value] => Array
(
[answer] => 3
[description] => Reason for Correct Answer:
Primary groups are often understood in contrast to “secondary groups”.
Primary groups are typically closer and longer-lasting ties, while secondary groups are more impersonal and temporary.
Family members and friends are strong ties so they are therefore considered primary groups.
)
[answers] => Array
(
[0] => Array
(
[each_answer] => A. Peer group
)
[1] => Array
(
[each_answer] => B. Reference group
)
[2] => Array
(
[each_answer] => C. Primary group
)
[3] => Array
(
[each_answer] => D. Secondary group
)
)
)
)
[total_question] => 5
[correct_answers] => Array
(
[559539|1] => D
[559539|2] => C
[559539|3] => D
[559539|4] => A
[559539|5] => C
)
[hide_display_feedback_settings] =>
[hide_solutions] =>
)
