COLUBUS, Ohio, Jan. 6 (UPI) -- A U.S. study found friends play a significant role in whether teenage girls think about suicide, but they have little impact on boys' suicidal thoughts.
The Ohio State University study done in conjunction with Columbia University found that girls were nearly twice as likely to think about suicide if they had only a few friends and felt isolated from their peers. They were also more likely to consider suicide if their friends were not friends with each other.
"Close friendships appear to be much more important for adolescent girls than they are for boys, and problems with these relationships have major impacts on girls' mental health," study co-author Jane Moody, assistant professor of sociology at Ohio State University.
"Boys tend to hang out in groups, and close relationships do not seem to be as important to them."
The study, published in the American Journal of Public Health, also found that there was no way to tell which teenagers who are thinking about suicide will actually attempt it.
