Citation

Terzi-Unsal S, Kapci EG. Soc. Behav. Pers. 2005; 33(6): 593-607.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2005, New Zealand, Society for Personality Research)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

This study aimed to test three different suicide models for adolescents residing in a Turkish City, Batman. A total of 605 adolescents from five different high schools participated in this study (M=411, F=190, sex of 4 participants not recorded). A Psychosocial Variables Form (developed for this study), the Offer Self-Image Questionnaire (Offer, Ostrov, Howard, and Dolan, 1989, adapted by Sahin 1993), the Adolescence Life Events Questionnaire (Kapci and Terzi-Unsal, 2001), the Piers-Harris Self-Worth Scale for Children (Harris and Piers, 1969, adapted by Catakli and Oner, 1996), the Suicide Behaviors Questionnaire (Linehan and Nielsen, 1981, adapted by Bayam, Dilbaz, Bitlis, Holat, and Tuzer, 1995), the Beck Hopelessness Scale (Beck, Weissman, Lester, and Trexler, 1974, adapted by Durak, 1994), the Suicide Ideation Questionnaire (Dilbaz, Holat, Bayam, Tuzer, and Bitlis, 1995), the Brief Symptom Inventory (Derogatis, 1992, adapted by Sabin and Durak, 1994) and the Multidimensional Scale for Perceived Social Support (Zimmer, Dahlen, Zimmiet, and Farley, 1998, adapted by Eker and Arkar, 1995) were utilized. The data were analyzed by using Structural Equation Modeling. The findings suggest that adolescent life events, psychosocial variables, social support and self-image are secondary risk factors for adolescent suicides, predicting self-worth, psychological health and hopelessness. These variables, in turn, predicted suicide ideation identified as a primary risk factor - that predicted suicide behaviors. The results are discussed in the context of primary-secondary risk factors for adolescent suicides.