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. 2022;46(8):1814-1822.
doi: 10.1080/07481187.2020.1852629. Epub 2020 Nov 27.

Posttraumatic stress disorder symptom clusters, suicidal ideation, and social support in a clinical adolescent sample

Roberto López Jr  1 , Annamarie B Defayette  1 , Emma D Whitmyre  1 , Caitlin A Williams  1 , Christianne Esposito-Smythers  1
Affiliations

Posttraumatic stress disorder symptom clusters, suicidal ideation, and social support in a clinical adolescent sample

Roberto López Jr et al. Death Stud. 2022.

Abstract

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a risk factor for adolescent suicidal ideation (SI). This study explored the relation between PTSD symptom clusters and SI, and whether social support moderates this association, in a cross-sectional, adolescent, clinical sample (N = 125). We hypothesized that each cluster would be positively associated with SI severity and that social support would buffer these associations. Only the persistent avoidance cluster was significantly associated with SI severity. Further, social support moderated this association. Results highlight the positive association between persistent avoidance symptoms of PTSD and SI and suggest that bolstering social support serves a protective function.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of interest: The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Social support moderating the effect of persistent avoidance symptoms on suicidal ideation severity.
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