Sex and age moderate the trajectory of guilt among children and adolescents with and without recent suicidal ideation.
Anastacia Kudinova, Leslie A Brick, Christine Barthelemy, Heather A MacPherson, Gracie Jenkins, Lena DeYoung, Anna Gilbert, Petya Radoeva, Kerri Kim, Michael Armey, Daniel Dickstein
Author Information
Anastacia Kudinova: Bradley Hospital, Providence, RI, USA. ORCID
Leslie A Brick: Division of Child Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Providence, RI, USA. ORCID
Christine Barthelemy: PediMIND Program at McLean Hospital, Belmont, MA, USA.
Heather A MacPherson: William James College, Newton, MA, USA.
Gracie Jenkins: PediMIND Program at McLean Hospital, Belmont, MA, USA.
Lena DeYoung: PediMIND Program at McLean Hospital, Belmont, MA, USA.
Anna Gilbert: Bradley Hospital, Providence, RI, USA.
Petya Radoeva: Bradley Hospital, Providence, RI, USA.
Kerri Kim: Bradley Hospital, Providence, RI, USA.
Michael Armey: Division of Child Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Providence, RI, USA.
Daniel Dickstein: PediMIND Program at McLean Hospital, Belmont, MA, USA.
We aimed to examine whether the trajectories of ecologically derived guilt differ among a transdiagnostic sample of youth with and without recent suicidal ideation and whether sex and age moderated this association. We assessed guilt 3 times a day over a 2-week period via ecological momentary assessment (EMA) technology in 102 children recruited from the community, outpatient, and inpatient settings. The average age of children was 10.95 y.o. (= 2.26, range 8-16) and the majority were male (54.9%) and White (76.5%). We found that the real-world guilt during a two-week EMA period was higher among youth with greater suicidal ideation severity in the past six months. Moreover, there was a significant moderating effect of sex and age on this association, such that the association between suicidal ideation severity and guilt was particularly strong among females compared to males and youth who were 10 years old or older. The findings were maintained when we adjusted for the relevant demographic and clinical characteristics, including age, minority status, parental income, EMA response rate, and current internalising symptoms. These preliminary findings highlight the clinical relevance of assessing and targeting feelings of guilt in the day-to-day lives of youth, particularly for females and older youth.
