Parental bonding in severely suicidal adolescent inpatients

Family environment has a clear role in suicidal behavior of adolescents. We assessed the relationship between parental bonding and suicidal behavior in suicidal (n = 53) and non-suicidal (n = 47) adolescent inpatients. Two dimensions of parental bonding: care and overprotection, were assessed with the Parental Bonding Instrument. Results showed that adolescents with severe suicidal behavior tended to perceive their mothers as less caring and more overprotective compared to those with mild or no suicidal behavior. A discriminant analysis distinguished significantly between adolescents with high suicidality and those with low suicidality [χ2(5) = 15.54; p = 0.01] in 71% of the cases. The perception of the quality of maternal bonding may be an important correlate of suicidal behavior in adolescence and may guide therapeutic strategies and prevention.