Family functioning and suicide attempts in Mexican adolescents

Suicide is considered a public health problem that affects families worldwide. Family functioning is the capability of the family system to fulfill needs during the stages of its development. In this study, we focused on evaluating family cohesion and adaptability in a group of adolescents who had attempted suicide and were hospitalized at a hospital for mental health disorders, compared to a control group. Methods: based on Olson’s circumplex model, we used the FACES III scale to gain insights into the family functioning of both suicidal and control groups. Results: The case group presented lower scores in cohesion and adaptability compared to the control group, with moderate effect-size for cohesion (Cohen’s d/r test = 1.217/0.52) and low effect-size for adaptability (Cohen’s d/r test = 0.746/0.35) (p < 0.001 for both variables), and also presented predominantly disengaged families (72.5% in the case group vs. 27.5% in the control group) and structured families (45% in the case group vs. 23.8% in the control group). The type of family described by the adolescents with a history of suicide attempts may explain the presence of low self-esteem and little emotional support usually present in this type of patient.