Interpersonal violence and suicide risk: Examining buffering effects of school and community connectedness.

The buffering effects observed in this study identified dimensions of school and community social connectedness as protective factors for youth exposed to abuse. Although promoting social connectedness is often cited as a universal suicide prevention approach, tailored efforts to enhance connectedness within this population may also be a promising secondary prevention strategy. Thus, in addition to clinical treatment, more emphasis should be placed on systems-level approaches to reducing risk among youth most vulnerable to suicide.