Proceedings of the International Academic Conference on Social Sciences and Humanities
Year: 2024
DOI:
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Childhood maltreatment and suicidal ideation among adolescents in out-of-home placements: investigating the moderating role of social support
Wasiu Olorunlambe and Sherifat Adeniyi
ABSTRACT:
Objective: Suicidal ideation is a global public health burden and adolescents in out-of-home placements are more affected than the general population. Past studies have examined its risk and protective factors among adolescents. However, this issue remains an under-studied topic among at-risk adolescents in low- and middle-income countries. Methods: The cross-sectional design was adopted through multi-stage sampling. The sample comprised 205 respondents: juvenile-involved youths (102 (49.8%) and welfare-involved youths (103 (50.2%)). Among them, 151 (73.7%) were males, while 54 (26.3%) were females (M=1.26; SD=0.44). Results: Half (51%) of the adolescents in detention and 39% of the adolescents in residential care reported suicidal ideation. Emotional abuse (β= –.278; p<.048), loss of one parent (β=.403; p<.05) and parental separation (β=.458; p<.05) significantly predicted suicidal ideation among the children living in residential care homes (F(2.37); p<.05, whereas emotional abuse (β= –.302; p<.05) and sexual abuse (β=–.278; p<.05) and parental imprisonment (β= 202; p<.05) significantly predicted suicidal ideation among the detained youth. Suicidal ideation was comorbid with depression (OR=.919), substance use (OR= 2.724), post-traumatic stress disorder (OR=.95, p<.05), somatic complaints (OR=1.063; p<.05) and anxiety (OR=1.675; p<.05). The males did not differ from the females on suicidal ideation. Social support buffered the effects of child maltreatment on suicidal ideation. Conclusion: The findings suggest that emotional and sexual abuses were strongly related to suicidal ideation. Interventions should include emotional abuse assessment. Children who have lost one parent and those from single family backgrounds should be the primary focus of interventions.
keywords: Suicidal ideation, childhood maltreatment, social support, adolescents, out-of-home placements