The Dependency Needs and Perceived Availability and Adequacy of Relationships in Female Adolescent Suicide Attempters

Dependency needs & the perceived availability & adequacy of relationships were studied in 21 female adolescent suicide attempters & 23 nonattempters. Dependency needs did not significantly differentiate the 2 groups. Attempters did report a smaller social network & fewer, less satisfactory intimate relationships than nonattempters. Preliminary results suggest that more research is needed to establish whether dependency needs are causally related to female adolescents’ suicide attempts. (48 refs)