Adolescent Risk: the Co-Occurrence of Illness, Suicidality and Substance use

This study tested illness, suicidality, & substance use as outome measures in a path analysis of 1028 Swiss adolescents in secondary prevention programs. The model showed that negative mood (depression & anxiety) predicted two paths. One path led from negative mood to suicidality & from there to substance use. The other path led directly from negative mood to illness. Traditional protective factors (good relationships, secure identity) protected against the negative mood-suicide-substance path, but not against the negative mood-illness path. (64 refs.)