De relatie tussen depressieve symptomen, suïcidaal gedrag en het gemodereerd effect van piekeren bij adolescenten.

Abstract

Research shows that the development of suicidal behavior increases significantly during early adolescence. Experiencing depressive symptoms appears to be consistently cited in scientific studies as one of the greatest predictors of suicidal behavior. Worrying keeps people fixated on their negative experiences and prevents them from solving their problems. In this way, worrying can potentially amplify the effect of the depressive symptoms and is therefore associated with suicidal behavior. It is therefore important to investigate whether worrying strengthens the relationship between depressive symptoms and suicidal behavior in a sample of adolescents. Questionnaire data of 1340 adolescents aged 11-15 years were used to measure depressive symptoms, worrying and suicidal behaviors. Linear multiple hierarchical regression analyze were performed on a data set of 1340 adolescents. The results showed that there is a significant positive relation between depressive symptoms and suicidal behavior. Second, there was also a significant positive relation between worry and suicidal behavior. We also found that a high level of worry significantly moderated the relationship between depression and suicidal behavior. It could be concluded that when adolescents worry, this strengthens the relationship between depressive symptoms and suicidal behavior. However, findings should be interpreted with some caution as this is based on cross-sectional data.