Self-Disclosure, Depression, Anxiety, and Suicidal Behavior in Adolescent Psychiatric Inpatients

The objectives of this paper were to examine the personality variable of self-disclosure, or the tendency to share feelings with others, and its relationship to depression, anxiety, and suicidal behavior in adolescent psychiatric inpatients. Of the 87 adolescents who were assessed, 53 had made a suicide attempt and 34 had never shown any suicidal behavior during their lifetime. There was a significant relationship between suicidality and low levels of self-disclosure, which appears to be mediated by anxiety and depression. This sharing difficulty was most significantly marked between the adolescent and his/her family and seemed to be mediated by feelings of depression and anxiety.