Child maltreatment, recent stressful life events, and suicide ideation: A test of the stress sensitivity hypothesis

Course overview

Course Description: This course is based upon material published in the Child Abuse and Neglect manuscript from the Department of Health and Human Services and is available as an open-access article. Exposure to child maltreatment is a well-known risk factor for suicide ideation among adolescents. Recent stressful life events may also contribute to this risk. However, the association between these risk factors is unclear in the etiology of suicide ideation for adolescents from socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds. The present study tested the stress generation and stress sensitivity hypotheses in relation to child maltreatment, recent stressful life events (in the past year), and suicide ideation (in the past two weeks). We utilized a sample of diverse, socioeconomically disadvantaged, depressed adolescent girls (N = 175) who were part of a depression treatment intervention. Child maltreatment was significantly associated with adolescent suicide ideation. Results supported the stress sensitivity hypothesis, in that exposure to interpersonal stressors in the past year exacerbated the association between child maltreatment and adolescents suicide ideation. We found evidence for a protective factor, cognitive reappraisal, in the association between stressful life events and suicide ideation. These findings have several implications for clinical practice and suicide prevention with adolescent girls, and contribute to the extant literature on the role of chronic and acute stress in the etiology of adolescent suicide ideation. This course on child maltreatment as a risk factor for suicide ideation is designed for social workers, professional counselors, psychologists, nurses, and substance abuse counselors, who do clinical work. In addition, this course is appropriate for intermediate and advanced-level practitioners who wish to develop their knowledge of child maltreatment as a risk factor for suicide. The course material includes a literature review of research. It may also be useful for licensed clinicians who require continuing clinical education courses for license renewal. The course is based on a journal article that includes research. It contains statistical analysis and data that some clinicians enjoy reading and others do not. A significant benefit of reading research-based articles for continuing education is they provide practitioners with the latest findings in their field. Authors: Duprey, Handley, Manly, Cicchetti, Toth Learning Objectives: This course will provide the practitioner with detailed information regarding child maltreatment as a risk factor for suicide. Specifically, a professional will: Identify risk factors for suicide ideation, particularly in adolescents. Describe the relationship between different types of chronic and acute stressors in the context of suicide ideation. Recognize strategies for preventing child maltreatment and reducing suicide ideation. Citation: Duprey, E. B., Handley, E. D., Manly, J. T., Cicchetti, D., & Toth, S. L. (2021). Child maltreatment, recent stressful life events, and suicide ideation: A test of the stress sensitivity hypothesis. Child abuse & neglect, 113, 104926. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2020.104926