Piekeren en suïcidale gedragingen van adolescenten: de rol van het waargenomen stigma

Abstract

Introduction: Suicide has been the most important cause of mortality in youth aged 15 to 29 years in the Netherlands. Research has shown that worrying is an important risk factor for suicidal behaviors in adults. The purpose of the present study is to examine whether there is a relation between worrying and suicidal behaviors in Dutch adolescents. In addition, perceived stigma has been investigated as a moderator in the association between worrying and suicidal behaviors. Method: The ollowing instruments were used to measure the variables: the full VOZZ questionnaire, the Penn State Worry Questionnaire for children [PSWQ-C], the Depression Stigma Scale [DSS]. The analyses were performed on a data set of 1340 adolescents aged 11 to 15 years. Results: Results indicated that there is a positive relation between worrying and suicidal behaviors. However, perceived stigma does not make a significant contribution as a moderator in the relationship between worrying and suicidal behaviors. Conclusion: Explanations for the nonsignificant result in the present study may be found in the characteristics of the participants. It appears that only individuals labeled with a mental disorder experience stigmatization, such as the perceived stigma, while the sample in this study consisted of non-clinical adolescents. Implications: Following the present study, interventions may be developed, such as the web-based self-help intervention, which focuses on worrying as a treatment of suicidality. Besides, it is important to develop preventive interventions for schools to counteract the increase of suicidality in adolescence.