Victimization and Ideation in Adolescents

A team that studied the association between victimization and suicidal ideation concluded that it is important to assess young people who are believed to be at risk for suicidal ideation for a history of recent victimization and to assess young people who have histories of recent victimization for suicide risk. The team explored the relationship between victimization over the past year with self-reported suicidal ideation in the past month in children 10-17 years of age.

The data analysis revealed that four aggregate categories of victimization experiences by young people are associated with an increased risk of suicidal ideation:

•  Peer victimization
•  Sexual assault
•  Maltreatment by a caregiver (including physical and sexual
   maltreatment,as well as neglect)
•  Witnessing family violence

Exposure to community violence was not associated with an increased risk for suicidal ideation. After controlling for a history of suicidal ideation and internalizing disorders, three categories of recent victimization were found to be particularly damaging:

•  Young people who had been victimized by peers had 2.4 times the risk of
   ideation as those who had not been victimized by peers.
•  Youth who had been sexually assaulted had 3.4 times the risk of ideation
   of those who had not been assaulted.
•  Victims of maltreatment by a caregiver (including physical and sexual
   assault, neglect, emotional maltreatment, and custodial interference) had
   4.4 times the risk of those who had not been maltreated.

The data analysis also revealed that young people who had been exposed to at least seven forms of victimization in the past year were almost six times as likely to experience suicidal ideation as those who had not been exposed to at least seven forms of victimization. The authors concluded that such “polyvictimization” is a major risk factor for ideation and, along with peer victimization, maltreatment, and sexual assault, needs to be considered while assessing young people for suicide risk.

Turner, H., Finkelhor, D., Shattuck, A., & Hamby, S. (2012). Recent victimization exposure and suicidal ideation in adolescents. Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, 166(12), 1-6.