The Relationship Between Family Dynamics and Help-Seeking and Disclosure of Adolescent Self-Harm and Suicidality: A Population-Representative Study: Relation entre dynamique familiale et recherche d’aide, et dévoilement des actes d’automutilation et de la suicidalité chez les adolescents : étude représentative de la population

Background Few studies have explored the potential for family dynamics to hinder or promote help-seeking and disclosure behaviours among adolescents who self-harm or experience suicidality. We sought to examine whether family dynamics may influence self-harm-related disclosure to parents or other family members and online help-seeking. Methods We identified youths, 14–17 years, in the 2014 Ontario Child Health Study (OCHS) who self-reported past-year suicidal ideation (with or without a suicide plan or past suicide attempt[s]) and/or non-suicidal self-harm. The OCHS is a provincially representative, cross-sectional survey. The person most knowledgeable about the adolescent, usually the mother, reported family dynamics: family dysfunction and positive and negative parenting practices. We used logistic regression to generate adjusted odds ratios. Results A total of 359 adolescents positively endorsed past-year suicidal ideation and/or non-suicidal self-harm. Disclosure and help-seeking were common (≥67.3% and ≥25.6%, respectively). Adolescents experiencing suicidal ideation and greater family dysfunction were more likely to share their suicidal thoughts with non-family compared to not telling anyone (OR = 1.09, 95% CI: 1.01 to 1.18) and were less likely to tell their parents or other family members about their suicidal thoughts when compared to non-family such as teachers, partners, or friends (OR = 0.82, 95% CI: 0.71 to 0.94). Positive parenting was not associated with any form of disclosure or online help-seeking for non-suicidal self-harm or suicidal ideation. As adolescent exposure to negative parenting increased, so did the likelihood that they would seek help online for their suicidal thoughts (OR = 1.22, 95% CI: 1.08 to 1.37). Sensitivity analyses replicated or were very similar to findings from the main models. Conclusion We found that negative family dynamics were related to reduced sharing of suicidal thoughts with parents or other family members and greater online help-seeking. Our findings suggest that the importance of negative family dynamics to disclosure and support-seeking for adolescent suicidality may be under-recognized.