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This page is an AI-assisted Turkish summary of the study presented at the 26th World Congress of Psychiatry. The study belongs to the presenting authors; please refer to the original source when citing it.

Transmission of mental disorders in adolescent peer networks

Transmission of mental disorders in adolescent peer networks

Exposure to peers’ mental disorders, self-harm behaviors, and genetic predisposition was associated with an increased risk of subsequent psychiatric disorders and self-harm in adolescents.

The study aimed to use population-based data to test whether mental disorders and self-harm behaviors are transmitted within adolescent peer networks. Finnish national register data were used, primarily covering cohorts born between 1985 and 2000; individuals were followed from adolescence until their first mental disorder diagnosis, self-harm episode, emigration, death, or the end of follow-up. Cox proportional hazards models were adjusted for individual-, parental-, school-, and regional-level confounders. Exposure to peers with mental disorders was associated with a higher risk of mental disorders, particularly mood, anxiety, and eating disorders; the association peaked in the first year of follow-up. Exposure to peers who self-harmed was associated with an increased risk of subsequent self-harm, with susceptibility peaking sharply around age 16; peers’ genetic predisposition was most strongly associated with externalizing disorders, whereas peers’ diagnoses were most strongly associated with internalizing disorders. No numerical risk estimates or p-values were reported in the abstract; the authors note that transmission may occur through both direct exposure to peers’ diagnoses and peers’ genetic backgrounds, and that further research is needed to clarify the mechanisms.

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