Peer-reviewed article
Exploring parent, adolescent, and primary care professionals’ perspectives on caregiver involvement and needs in adolescent suicide care.
Adia Abler, Sarah Danzo, Annie Hoang, Katherine Anne Comtois, Andrea L. Hartzler et al. ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-sonnet-5-5This study interviewed 16 pediatric primary care professionals, 20 adolescents with histories of suicidal thoughts and behaviors, and 18 parents of such adolescents. It asked how parents should be involved in suicide care in primary care and what support parents need. All three groups said parents play an important role. They also named barriers to involving parents, such as stigma, poor parent-child relationships, difficulty talking about mental health, and confidentiality concerns. Parents said they needed help navigating services, emotional support, and information about adolescent suicidal thoughts and behaviors. The study points to a tension between adolescents' hesitancy about parent involvement and parents' wish to be more informed.
Key points
- Adolescents, parents, and primary care professionals all believe parents have an important role in adolescent suicide care in primary care.
- All groups reported barriers to parent involvement: mental health and suicide stigma, poor parent-child relationships, difficulty communicating about mental health and safety, and confidentiality and privacy concerns.
- Parents reported needing help navigating youth mental health services.
- Parents also reported needing emotional support and education or resources about adolescent suicidal thoughts and behaviors.
- Adolescents are hesitant about parent involvement, parents want to be more included, and primary care staff are unsure how to handle this discrepancy.
Limitations
The abstract describes a qualitative interview study with a small sample (54 participants in total), so it cannot show how common these views are or whether any approach improves outcomes. It does not describe where participants were recruited or whether the findings apply beyond the US.
Abstract
Adolescents are increasingly screened for suicide risk in primary care (PC), leading to increased suicide risk identification. Research highlights the importance of parents in promoting adolescent safety and well-being. However, parents and adolescents are not always aligned in how to engage parents in adolescent care. Furthermore, little is known about what support parents need when caring for a child with suicidal thoughts and behaviors (STB) in PC. In this study, 16 pediatric PC professionals, 20 adolescents with histories of STB, and 18 parents of adolescents with histories of STB completed interviews regarding their perspectives on adolescent suicide care in PC. Interviews asked about barriers, facilitators, needs, and if and how parents should be involved in PC-based adolescent suicide care. Interviews were audio recorded, transcribed, and analyzed using inductive and deductive thematic analysis. Results demonstrated that adolescents, parents, and PC professionals believe parents play an important role in adolescent suicide care in PC. However, all groups reported key challenges that impede effective parent involvement, including the following: (a) concerns about mental health and suicide stigma, (b) poor parent-child relationships, (c) parent-child difficulty communicating about mental health and safety, and (d) concerns about patient confidentiality and privacy. Additionally, parents reported needs, including (a) help navigating youth mental health services, (b) emotional support, and (c) education/resources about adolescent STB. Results highlight a tension between adolescent hesitancy toward parent involvement, parents' desire to be more included and informed in their child's care, and PC staff concerns regarding how to navigate this discrepancy. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).