PARENTS ëCLUELESS' ABOUT TEEN SUICIDES, STUDY SHOWS
MUNCIE, Ind. -- Teens who commit suicide often leave many telltale warnings -- including signs of depression and alcohol abuse -- that parents miss, says a Ball State University study.
Drew Velting, an assistant professor of psychological sciences, interviewed 52 hospitalized teen-agers and their parents immediately following unsuccessful suicide attempts.
"It is obvious that most parents don't have a clue about what is going on in their children's lives," Velting said. "They often have little in common with their own children and have no way to reference it."
He found that 56.5 percent of youths who attempted suicide reported symptoms sufficient for a diagnosis of major depression as compared to 13 percent of parents who identified their children as being depressed.
While parents were better at recognizing alcohol abuse by their children, parents seriously underestimated the frequency or extent of use, the study revealed.
"We weren't surprised that parents missed signs of depression, " Velting said. "Parents often cannot understand the depth of feelings their children are going through as teens.
"Most parents have no clue how hopeless these types of children are," he said. "They are extremely pessimistic about the future and life in general."
Alcohol abuse, which plays a major role in many suicide attempts, is also underestimated by parents. Most of the surveyed adults did not know their children had been intoxicated at least once in the last six months before the suicide attempt.
The study also suggests that depression and alcohol abuse may be more prevalent among teens attempting suicide than previous surveys had found, he said.
He also recommends that parents should not be the exclusive sources of information about their children's symptoms when a psychological autopsy is conducted after a suicide.
Since parents miss so many signs of depression or alcohol abuse, close friends, siblings, teachers and fellow students should be interviewed to determined why a teen committed suicide, Velting said.
(NOTE TO EDITORS: For more information, contact Velting at [email protected] or (765) 285-1712. For more stories visit the Ball State University News Center at newscenter.bsu.edu on the World Wide Web.) 1-13-99
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