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Background: Research indicates that there is a strong association between childhood adversity and youth suicide and self-harm. However, there is currently a lack of understanding about the patterns of adversity most frequently experienced by youth across social settings, and whether these typologies differently predict youth engagement in suicide and self-harm. This study examines the dominant patterns of adversity experienced by adolescents across home, peer, and school contexts, and explores the relationship between youth's adversity profiles and their suicide and self-harm outcomes, across a two year period (2020-2022)., Methods: Secondary analyses were performed on data collected from 10,281 (50 % male) adolescents who participated in the Irish Planet Youth questionnaire in 2020 (n = 5004) or 2022 (n = 5277)., Results: Findings from clustered latent class analyses indicated that there are four dominant profiles of adversity experienced by adolescents. Class 1 (Multiple Adversity) was characterised by a high probability of experiencing adversity across multiple social settings. Class 2 (Parent Adversity) had a strong likelihood of experiencing adversity with parents. Class 3 (Peer Adversity) were likely to experience adversity within the peer/friend domain. Class 4 was characterised by a low probability of experiencing adversity. Findings from logistic regression models with BCH training weights indicated that there were significant differences in self-harm and suicidality across the adversity classes. In comparison to the low adversity group, adolescents in the multiple adversity group were more likely to self-harm and attempt suicide., Limitations: These findings are based on cross-sectional data and rely on the use of single-item measurements, which may limit the generalisability of findings., Discussion: Results indicate that youth who experience adversity across home, peer and school contexts are at the greatest risk of engaging in suicide and self-harm. These findings have important implications for policy and practice, and suggest that youth experiencing adversity across multiple settings should be priority targets for intervention., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper. Financial support for this research was provided by the Health Research Board, through a research grant: SDAP-2021-025. The funders played no role in the design, collection, analysis or interpretation of data, the writing of the report or the decision to submit for publication., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Research suggests that exposure to adversity can lead to an increased risk of experiencing suicidal and self-injurious thoughts or behaviours, but few studies have examined whether different patterns of adversity are differentially associated with youth suicide/self-harm. The current study aims to explore the relationship between exposure to adversity across various social domains and youth self-harm and suicidality, using a person centred approach, and examines whether access to social support and a sense of safety across home, peer or school settings buffer the relationship between adversity and self-harm/suicidality. Secondary data analyses were carried out on cross-sectional self-report data collected from 4848 (M age =15.78, SD = 0.59; 50% female) adolescents who participated in the Irish Planet Youth survey. Latent Class Analyses identified four distinct profiles of adversity; low-adversity (n = 2043, 42%); peer-adversity (n = 972, 20%); parental-adversity (n = 1189, 25%); and multiple-adversity (n = 644, 13%). Findings from logistic moderated regressions indicated that there were significant differences in self-harm and suicidality across the adversity classes. Although parental support and perceived safety at school were negatively associated with suicidality and self-harm outcomes, no significant moderation effects were observed. These findings suggest that youth who experience adversity across multiple social domains are more likely to report suicidal and self-harm thoughts and behaviours, and should be key targets for intervention/prevention efforts. While parental support and school safety may act as significant compensatory factors, further work is needed to identify the social resources that can offset the risk imposed by youth's adverse experiences., (© 2023. The Author(s).)