Impact of change in social connectedness on suicidal ideation among child welfare-involved youth

Background: Youth involved in the child welfare (CW) system are at high risk for suicidal ideation. Although social connectedness is emphasized as being protective against suicide, no known studies have examined how change in connectednessaffects suicidal ideation among CW youth. We investigated the relationship between change in connectedness in major adolescent social domains (i.e. primary caregiver, peers, and school) over a 36-month period and suicidal ideation.

Methods: We used data from Waves 1 and 3 of a sub-sample of youth aged 11 to 17 (N=311) in the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being (NSCAW II). For each connectedness domain, Wave 1 scores were subtracted from Wave 3 scores to create change scores. For each connectedness domain, we conducted a separate logistic regression model to examine the relationship between change in connectedness and suicidal ideation while controlling for baseline connectedness levels and risk factors (e.g. allegation type, depression).

Findings: Positive change in caregiver connectedness over time was found to decrease the odds of suicidal ideation at 36 months (OR: .23, 95% CI: .07, .81).  Change in peer connectedness and school connectedness were not found to be associated with suicidal ideation.  Higher baseline levels of depression and increases in depression over time were associated with increased odds of suicidal ideation across models.

Implications: Suicide prevention efforts focusing on CW youth should assess for change in caregiver connectedness and seek to improve connectedness over time. This may be particularly pertinent for children in long-term foster care or experiencing changes in caregivers.