In an effort to interpret the effects of the controls in explaining the association between early-onset dependence and subsequent ideation, we estimated two revised versions of the net effects model to predict suicide ideation. Both versions include controls for socio-demographics. One of the two also includes controls for common causes (i.e., parental history of psychopathology, other respondent childhood adversities), but not for potential mediators (i.e., respondent mental-substance disorders, quantity-frequency of alcohol and drug use). The other of the two models includes controls for potential mediators, but not for common causes. The OR in the model that controls for common causes [1.8 (0.9–3.8)] is smaller than the OR in the model that controls for potential mediators [2.0 (1.1–3.6)], suggesting that common causes play a somewhat more important role than mediators in accounting for the gross association between early-onset dependence and subsequent suicide ideation.
