Relationships Between Eating Disorders, Depression and Suicidal Tendencies Among Adolescent Girls from Arab Society

Abstract

This study aimed to find the possible links between eating disorders among adolescents and the dimensions of depression and suicidal tendencies, as reported by them. The sample consisted of 200 adolescents from Arab society in the north of Israel. The research tools included a socio-demographic questionnaire; the Eating Attitudes and Behaviors Questionnaire; the Beck Depression Inventory; and the Multidimensional Suicidal Tendencies Questionnaire for Adolescents. Findings suggest a positive relationship between eating disorders and depression and suicidal dimensions among female adolescents, and a significant relationship between eating disorders and the attraction and repulsion toward life. In addition, female adolescents reported very high levels of attraction to life and repulsion to death; namely, participants reported very low levels of attraction to death and medium-scale repulsion to life. A positive relationship was also found between the dimensions of depression and suicidal tendencies among the participants. Additional findings indicate that underachiever adolescents reported lower levels of depression and higher levels of attraction to life, compared with the average achievement teenagers. The obvious conclusion is that, since depression is the main predictor of suicidal tendencies among teenagers, rather than focusing on the consequences of depression, we should focus on the causes of depression and treat them.