(PS9-A13) Intergenerational Risk of Suicide: Maternal Suicide Risk as a Predictor of Preschooler Emotional and Behavioral Problems

In the past decade, increased rates of suicidal thoughts and behaviors (STBs) among children ages 5-11 have led to urgent public health calls to bolster research in this area. Children of mothers who have engaged in STBs may be especially vulnerable, given evidence of the intergenerational transmission of suicide. However, there is little research examining the early risk correlates of suicide among younger children. The present study investigated the relationship between self-reported maternal suicide risk and preschooler outcomes: aggression, attention, internalizing, and negative affect, in a sample of 178 mother-preschooler dyads with elevated rates of maternal suicide risk. Thirty-seven percent of children identified as ethnic/racial minoritized persons, 39% of households were led by single parents, 14% of mothers had received a high school education or less, and 26% of families were living at or below the poverty level. Mothers completed a diagnostic interview, the Suicide Behavior Questionnaire, and the Children’s Behavior Questionnaire and Child Behavior Checklist, from which three sub-scales were analyzed: DSM-ADHD, DSM-ODD, and negative affect. Maternal suicide risk was associated with mother and teacher report of preschoolers’ aggressive behaviors and with parent report of negative affect, even after controlling for covariates and simultaneously examining internalizing and attention problem outcomes. To our knowledge, this is the first study to examine maternal suicide risk in relation to previously identified emotional and behavioral problems in children of this age group. This study extends work into earlier developmental periods suggesting preschooler aggression may be an important risk factor for emerging suicidal thoughts and behaviors in young children.

Table 1. Multivariate model testing the effect of maternal suicide risk on maternal-reported child outcomes.

Note. Overall model fit was good (χ2(11) = 8.50, p = 0.67; CFI = 1.00; TLI = 1.00; RMSEA < 0.01). Significant associations are bolded and represent standardized effects. Associations with maternal-reported child outcomes were estimated simultaneously and controlled for their overlap as well as the effects of covariates.