Suicidal Adolescents’ Perceptions of Their Family Environment

This study empirically tested several hypotheses underlying the family interaction approach, & specifically examined whether models such as those of Richman (1978) & Pfeffer (1986) accurately characterize families of suicidal adolescents on a psychiatric inpatient unit. 15 adolescents in a suicidal group rated their families significantly lower on cohesion & higher on rigidity than did adolescents in either a psychiatric group or a normal control group. Limitations of the findings are discussed.