The present study used survival analyses to examine the extent to which the occurrence of a suicide attempt during the 1-year follow-up period could be meaningfully predicted by parental mental health history in addition to adolescents’ history of multiple suicide attempts, suicidal ideation, and other baseline measures of adolescent functioning. We hypothesized that adolescents with biological parents (mothers and fathers) who reported a history of mental health problems (on the Family History Screen) would be more likely to attempt suicide. In keeping with previous studies, we also hypothesized that a history of multiple suicide attempts; severity of suicide ideation, anxiety, and depression; and alcohol/substance abuse would be predictors of time-to-attempt during the 1-year follow-up. In keeping with our developmental psychopathology framework, as well as relevant literature pointing to the multiple influences on adolescent suicidality, analyses were also conducted to examine interactions among these hypothesized predictors of time-to-attempt during follow-up.
