Parent-adolescent communication and adolescent’s suicide: effects of gender and stages of adolescence

Background. Lithuania is one of the countries with the highest rates of adolescent suicide. A possible contributing factor for adolescent suicide may be inadequate parent-adolescent communication, however, little is known how socialization in family and adolescent’s development may contribute to parent-adolescent communication and its relation to adolescent suicide. The aim of this study was to examine the influence of parent-adolescent communication on adolescent’s suicide by gender and stages of adolescence. Methods. Data were obtained from the Health Behaviour in school-aged children study 2005/06, carried out in Lithuania. A nationally representative sample of 3725 students completed self-report questionnaires including questions about suicidal thoughts or attempts and communication with parents. The present study distinguished adolescence into early and late stages of development by using the respondents’ birth day (month and year). Logistic regression was used for analysis. Results. The influence of mother-adolescent communication on adolescent’s suicidal risk was stronger than father-adolescent communication. Easy communication with father protected more girls than boys from suicide risk while communication with mother not only protected more daughters from suicide ideation and suicide attempts but also had a much stronger protective effect for sons than fathers. The protective influence of communication with mother and father on their children’s suicide declined during late adolescence with some differences among boys and girls. Easy communication with both parents significantly decreased the risk of attempting suicide, notably for girls during early adolescence. Conclusions. Parent-adolescent communication on adolescent’s suicide risk is gender specific and depends on stages of adolescent development. The dominance of same-sex and opposite-sex parental influence should not be