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

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

Chronic life experiences had a stronger negative effect on self-esteem than did acute stress. However, when clinically suicidal ideation was controlled for, acute stress was more detrimental for those falling into the category of clinical suicidal ideation. One explanation for the finding could be that acute stress is more powerful than chronic stress; it is not until individuals experience Stressful life events for more than six months that self-esteem becomes taxed. The fact that this hypothesis (adolescents who are low suicidal ideators will perceive life experiences more acutely) was confirmed when looking at the clinical suicidal ideators, is an indication that self-esteem may very well serve as a buffer between life stressors and suicidal ideation, especially when looking at the clinical suicidal ideators. Further research is needed to confirm this view. This seems to suggest that self-esteem is an important factor for helping persons deal with life stressors. In addition, self-esteem can become extremely taxed over long periods of dealing with a life stressor which may impede the ability to cope with a particular stressor. However, the strong correlation among low self-esteem, negative life stressors within a period of six months, and clinical suicidal ideation might be an indication that this hypothesis has validity with some individuals. Future studies should explore the relationship with a larger sample that falls into the category of clinical suicidal ideation. This study failed to support the hypothesis that positive self-esteem would moderate the effects of negative life stress during adolescence. However, it should be noted that the failure to support this hypothesis could be attributed to the fact that other variables, not assessed in this study, may affect the relationship. For example, feelings of hopelessness or poor quality of family and peer support also can be factors in the relationship between self-esteem and life stressors. Methodological issues may also play a role in this finding. The global nature of the self-esteem instrument used here may not be able to delineate discrete domains of self-esteem. A multidimensional self-esteem measure might be more powerful in assessing distinct relationships. For example, individuals might report relatively high academic self-esteem and a low measure of esteem related to perceptions of interpersonal or physical self. By incorporating multiple dimensions in examining self-esteem development, researchers can obtain a greater understanding of adolescents.

Furthermore, 90% of the sample consisted of white females; therefore, generalization beyond this population is limited. This unequal gender distribution prevented us from examining whether females were more likely than males to experience more thoughts of suicide. Several studies (Berman & Jobes, 1994; Adams, Overholser, & Spirito, 1994; Teen Suicide, 1998) have noted distinct differences in the occurrence of suicidal behaviors, stress levels, and self-esteem. Also, Gibbs (1988) noted that suicide is an increasing problem among minority youth. However, other researchers (Bloch, 1999; Hoberman & Garfinkel, 1988) have noted that suicide statistics continue to reflect a preponderance of older adolescents who are Caucasian. Future studies should incorporate a more representative sample with respect to gender and race.