Stress, self-esteem, and suicidal ideation in late adolescents

Adolescence, Spring, 2005 by Victor R. Wilburn, Delores E. Smith

Data distinguished between life stressors that occurred within the last six months (acute stress) and those that occurred prior to the last six months (chronic stress). T-tests indicated a significant difference (t = 2.61, p < .01) in the mean number of acute and chronic stressful life events. Mean scores between were (M = 1.9; SD = 2.40; M = 2.81; SD = 2.6), respectively.

The correlations between self-esteem and acute and chronic negative stressors were examined to determine if lower self-esteem related differently to the two types of stressors. Significant negative relationships were found between self-esteem and both types of stressors (r = .29, p < .01 and r = .22, p < .05), respectively. The association between suicidal ideation and acute and chronic stress were also assessed. No significant correlation was found between acute stress and suicidal ideation but there was a significant correlation between chronic stress and suicidal ideation (r = .21, p < .05). However, when the data were adjusted to determine the correlational relationship between stress and clinical suicidal ideators, a significant effect (r = .25, p = .05) was found between acute stress and clinical suicidal ideators, but no relationship was found between chronic stress and clinical ideators. This suggested that individuals who experience more acute stressful events were more likely to experience clinical suicidal ideation than were those who experienced chronic stressors.

DISCUSSION

The purpose of this study was to determine the relationships among stress, self-esteem, and suicidal ideation. Major findings are as follows: (a) negative stress and self-esteem significantly predicted suicidal ideation, (b) self-esteem did not moderate the effects of negative stress on suicidal ideation, and (c) 12% of the sample were clinical suicidal ideators.

A significant degree of covariance between self-esteem and negative life experiences in the prediction of suicidal ideation was found; but self-esteem explained a greater degree of variability of suicidal ideation than did stress. However, little is known regarding the participants' coping styles and other available resources. This study could be improved by including variables such as the quality of an individual's coping strategies and the availability of external resources to deal with life processes. It is quite possible that factors such as coping strategies and social support systems could alleviate stress and hence, thwart the feelings of hopelessness that could lead to thoughts of suicide. For example, past research has established a link between adolescents' stress and family support, and between family support and self-esteem. The stress adolescents experience when their support from family is perceived to be low can significantly lower their self-esteem and increase the level of stress and risk of suicide. Researchers have found that adolescents who perceived their family as uncaring, distant, and controlling had a higher likelihood of committing suicide (Turner, Kaplan, Zayas, & Ross, 2002). Furthermore, Olvera (2001) reported a significant relationship between family problems and suicidal ideation. Therefore, it is logical to assume that family support would be a powerful resource for combatting stress and ultimately thoughts of suicide. In addition, clearer results could be attained by implementing a life-stressor instrument that addresses issues more specific to negative life experiences among adolescents. For example, the instrument might incorporate items that related to negative stressors based on academic achievement, economic resource availability, social and interpersonal relationships, and family and life transitions. In such an instrument, individuals would be asked to identify which items have a negative impact on them and the extent to which they have been affected.