disaffection of young people from their society and their families. One of these factors is abuse--both physical and psychological--perpetrated by someone in a position of trust or authority in the life of a young person (Howing, 1990, pp. 244-249). One of the most debilitating outcomes of abuse experienced by a young person is a loss of self-esteem (Ogata, 1990, pp. 1008-1013). Abuse, and the hopelessness and depression that often stem from abuse, frequently leads to a loss of self-esteem (Madonna, 1991, pp. 46-49). The loss of self-esteem leads many adolescents to consider suicide (Sanders & Giolas, 1991, pp. 50-54).
Teenage Suicide and Drug Use: Earlier Research
Kazdin, French, Unis, Esveldt-Dawson, and Sherick (1983, pp. 504-510) linked teenage suicide and drug use through the correlation of each factor with hopelessness and depression. Both hopelessness and depression were found to be strongly correlated with drug use and both suicide ideation and suicide attempts. When depressive measures were controlled, significant correlations between hopelessness and suicide attempts and suicide ideation continued to exist. When hopelessness measures were controlled, however, the correlations between depression and suicide attempts and suicide ideation were no longer significant.
In all of their analyses, Kazdin, French, Unis, Esveldt-Dawson, and Sherick (pp. 504-510) found that specific age, gender,
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