Deliberate self-poisoning in adolescence: why does a brief family intervention work in some cases and not others?

In a randomized trial of a brief family intervention with adolescents who h ad deliberately poisoned themselves, we have previously reported that, with in the group of patients who did not have major depression, the family :int ervention was significantly superior to routine care in reducing suicidal t hinking. The present paper examined whether efficacy was related to changes in family functioning or other possible mediating variables. Potential med iators included family: functioning, hopelessness, depression, adolescent p roblem-solving and compliance with treatment. The efficacy of the family in tervention in reducing suicidal ideation within the non-depressed sub-group was probably not mediated by changes in: these variables. The implications of this finding are discussed. (C) 2000 The Association for Professionals in Services for Adolescents.