Relations between suicidal ideation, depression, and emotional autonomy from parents in adolescence

We examined the relations between depression, emotional autonomy quality-related constructs of separation and detachment, and suicidal ideation, focusing on the unique and common contribution that depression, separation and detachment made to suicidal ideation. We also examined gender differences. 403 adolescents, 196 boys and 207 girls, completed self-report measures of depression, separation and detachment, and suicidal ideation. The data showed a significant relation between depression and suicidal ideation both for boys and girls, and between detachment and suicidal ideation only for boys. Results for boys supported an additive model such that depression and detachment each contributed unique variance to boys’ suicidal ideation, and an interactive model such that detachment contributed to exacerbate the risk of suicidal ideation when boys were already at risk because of depression. The data for girls supported an interactive, but not additive, model such that depression and detachment did not contribute independently to girls’ suicidal ideation but in a joint way.