Suicidal ideation and time perspective in high school students

Objective. - Many studies have enlightened the relevance of deepening our knowledge of suicidal ideation among adolescents. However, research has given insufficient attention to the impact of time perspective on suicidal ideation: the present study confirms this relationship in a large sample of adolescents. Method. - A survey was conducted on a sample of 3700 Italian adolescents. We obtained data using a structured questionnaire addressing suicidal ideation, mental health status, self-esteem, individual and family characteristics, and time perspective (ZTPI) in three temporal frames: the past, present and future, and the attitude related to each one of them. Data were analyzed using bivariate and multivariate analyses. Results. - Overall, 9.2% of the sample reported severe suicidal ideation during the past two weeks; 7.6% reported moderate suicidal ideation. Female adolescents were more likely to report severe suicidal ideation when compared to males (chi(2)((2)) = 13.38, P = .001). There were no differences regarding age (chi(2)((1)) = 2.81, P = .245) and SES (chi(2)((2)) = 8.67, P = .08). The first discriminant function was mostly explained by psychopathological symptoms (General Global Index), self-esteem and two dimensions of the ZTPI (Negative Past and Fatalistic Present). Conclusions. - Differences in time perspective dimensions between moderate and severe ideators suggest that these groups should be considered and analyzed as two discrete groups in further research. (C) 2008 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.