Associations Between Relational Aggression, Depression, and Suicidal Ideation in a Child Psychiatric Inpatient Sample

The current study examined relations between relational aggression, depressive symptoms, and suicidal ideation in a child clinical population. Participants included 276 children ( M age = 9.55 years; 69% Male) who were admitted to a child psychiatric inpatient facility. Findings suggested that relational aggression was associated with depressive symptoms, which in turn was associated with suicidal ideation. The test of indirect effects suggested that depressive symptoms fully accounted for the link between relational aggression and suicidal ideation. Moreover, these relations were found when also controlling for the variance associated with overt aggression, history of abuse, and social problems. Current findings appear to suggest that relational aggression is linked to depressive symptoms, which is linked to suicidal ideation within a clinical population, and as such there may be clinical utility in assessing relational aggression.