A longitudinal study of suicidal ideation in young adolescents

As part of a longitudinal study of depression and suicidal ideation in adolescents, a three-item suicide screen was administered to 1,073 students for 3 consecutive years starting at the beginning of the 7th or 8th grades. Each year over 70% of respondents reported no suicidal thoughts, and less than 5.5% attained high suicide ideation scores. Blacks and females had higher scores, respectively, than did whites and males. The individual students' suicide scores were less stable than the overall distributions with 1- and 2-year correlations reaching 0.35 and 0.28, respectively. Only one student received a high score all 3 years. The best predictors of a given year's suicide score was the previous years' depression scores. Gender, undesirable life events, family adaptability, and family cohesion were significant but less consistent predictors.     

Predictive Validity of the Columbia-Suicide Severity Rating Scale for Short-Term Suicidal Behavior: A Danish Study of Adolescents at a High Risk of Suicide

Using the Columbia-Suicide Severity Rating Scale (C-SSRS), we examined the predictive and incremental predictive validity of past-month suicidal behavior and ideation for short-term suicidal behavior among adolescents at high risk of suicide. The study was conducted in 2014 on a sample of 85 adolescents (90.6% females) who participated at follow-up (85.9%) out of the 99 (49.7%) baseline respondents. All adolescents were recruited from a specialized suicide-prevention clinic in Denmark. Through multivariate logistic regression analyses, we examined whether baseline suicidal behavior predicted subsequent suicidal behavior (actual attempts and suicidal behavior of any type, including preparatory acts, aborted, interrupted and actual attempts; mean follow-up of 80.8 days, SD = 52.4). Furthermore, we examined whether suicidal ideation severity and intensity incrementally predicted suicidal behavior at follow-up over and above suicidal behavior at baseline. Actual suicide attempts at baseline strongly predicted suicide attempts at follow-up. Baseline suicidal ideation severity and intensity did not significantly predict future actual attempts over and above baseline attempts. The suicidal ideation intensity items deterrents and duration were significant predictors of subsequent actual attempts after adjustment for baseline suicide attempts and suicidal behavior of any type, respectively. Suicidal ideation severity and intensity, and the intensity items frequency, duration and deterrents, all significantly predicted any type of suicidal behavior at follow-up, also after adjusting for baseline suicidal behavior. The present study points to an incremental predictive validity of the C-SSRS suicidal ideation scales for short-term suicidal behavior of any type among high-risk adolescents.     

Prevalence of Suicide Ideation in Two Districts of Uganda

ABSTRACT

Suicide ideation is common in all communities but research on suicidal behavior in Sub-Saharan Africa is scarce. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of self-reported suicidal ideation in two contrasting districts of Uganda. The method employed was a systematic sample of 939 respondents residing in Adjumani and Bugiri districts, using the Beck Scale for Suicide Ideation (BSS). Results indicated a higher rate of suicidal ideation in females, the unemployed and in Adjumani district. Consistent with other international studies, high rates of suicidal ideation were found in the Ugandan population. The higher prevalence of suicide ideation in the Adjumani District appears to be a symptom of psychosocial distress related to many years of social and political turmoil and the poor socio-economic conditions. In-depth observational studies are needed to fully understand the process of suicide ideation in Uganda.     

Prevalence of suicide ideation in two districts of Uganda.

Suicide ideation is common in all communities but research on suicidal behavior in Sub-Saharan Africa is scarce. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of self-reported suicidal ideation in two contrasting districts of Uganda. The method employed was a systematic sample of 939 respondents residing in Adjumani and Bugiri districts, using the Beck Scale for Suicide Ideation (BSS). Results indicated a higher rate of suicidal ideation in females, the unemployed and in Adjumani district. Consistent with other international studies, high rates of suicidal ideation were found in the Ugandan population. The higher prevalence of suicide ideation in the Adjumani District appears to be a symptom of psychosocial distress related to many years of social and political turmoil and the poor socio-economic conditions. In-depth observational studies are needed to fully understand the process of suicide ideation in Uganda.     

Suicidal Behavior in Juvenile Delinquents: The Role of ADHD and Other Comorbid Psychiatric Disorders

This study evaluated the role of psychiatric morbidity in relation to a history of suicidal behavior, with a particular focus on attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Suicidality and psychiatric diagnoses were assessed in 370 incarcerated male juvenile delinquents from Northern Russia using the semi-structured K-SADS-PL psychiatric interview. A lifetime history of suicidal ideation only (24.7?%) and suicidal ideation with suicide attempts (15.7?%) was common. Binary logistic regression analysis was used to assess the role of ADHD and other psychiatric disorders in suicidal ideation and suicide attempts. A history of suicidal ideation and of suicide attempts were associated with higher rates of psychiatric morbidity and with the number of comorbid psychiatric disorders. An ADHD diagnosis was associated with an increased risk for both suicidal ideation and for suicide attempts. The comorbidity of ADHD with drug dependence further increased the risk for suicidal ideation, while ADHD and alcohol dependence comorbidity increased the risk for suicide attempts. Our findings highlight the importance of adequately detecting and treating psychiatric disorders in vulnerable youths, especially when they are comorbid with ADHD.     

Gender differences in the relationship between depression and suicidal ideation in young adolescents

OBJECTIVE: This study examined the risk relationship between depressive symptomatology and suicidal ideation for young adolescent males and females. METHOD: A large cohort of students in their first year of high school completed the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) and the Adolescent Suicide Questionnaire. The risk relationship between depressive symptomatology and suicidal ideation was modelled using non-parametric kernel-smoothing techniques. RESULTS: Suicidal ideation was more frequently reported by females compared with males which was partly explained by females having higher mean depression scores. At moderate levels of depression females also had a significantly higher risk of suicidal ideation compared with males and this increased risk contributed to the overall higher levels of female ideation. CONCLUSIONS: The risk relationship between depressive symptomatology and suicidal ideation is different for young adolescent males and females. The results indicate that moderate levels of depressive symptomatology can be associated with suicidal ideation (especially among young females) and that for these young people a suicide risk assessment is required.     

Suicidal expressions among young people in Nicaragua

BACKGROUND: Suicidal behaviour is a major public health problem among adolescents. In Nicaragua as well as in most other countries, young people aged 15-24 have the highest rate of attempted suicide according to hospital records. The aims of this study were to investigate self-reported life-weariness, death wishes, suicidal ideation, suicidal plans and suicide attempts (i.e. suicidal expressions) among young men and women in the community and to identify factors associated with suicidal expressions. METHODS: The sample was derived from an established study base in the city of León, Nicaragua. From 352 randomly selected subjects aged 15-24 years, 278 individuals (145 males and 133 females) were interviewed using the Attitudes Towards Suicide (ATTS) questionnaire, including questions on suicidal expressions. RESULTS: The overall 1-year prevalence of any suicidal expression was 44.8% among males and 47.4% among females. A suicide attempt in the past year was reported by 2.1% of males and 1.5% of females. There was no significant gender difference in reporting of the separate types of suicidal expressions, except for death wishes, where females reported higher prevalence (33.8% vs. 20.7%). Exposure to suicidal expressions among significant others was significantly associated with own serious suicidal expressions. The study failed to identify any association between suicidal expressions and sociodemographic factors such as poverty or educational level. CONCLUSIONS: The present study highlights that suicidal behaviour is a significant public health problem among young people in Nicaragua. The finding that suicidal behaviour among significant others appears to have a contagious effect on adolescents, needs to be addressed in the prevention of suicidal behaviour.     

Suicide ideation and social desirability among school-aged young people

A mixed male-female sample of 950 school-aged adolescents, corresponding to 10% of the young population aged 15-19 living in a rural district of Northeast Italy, was investigated with self-reported questionnaires about the links between social desirability and suicide ideation. On the whole 30.6% of females and 23.9% of males reported suicidal ideation of some degree, with 5% in both genders reporting suicide ideation of a high degree (i.e. quite a lot/extremely often). Those who scored higher at the Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Scale (SDS) reported lower levels of psychiatric symptoms on the Symptom checklist 90R (SCL-90R), with the "denial" subscale of the SDS resulting specifically associated to lower scores on SCL-90R items measuring hopelessness, thoughts about death and suicide ideation. The personality traits measured by the Marlowe-Crowne SDS, such as defensiveness, denial and self-deception, might be conceived as a protection against psychiatric disorders and suicide ideation.     

Non-fatal suicidal behavior among South Africans

BACKGROUND: Suicide represents 1.8% of the global burden of disease, yet the prevalence and correlates of suicidal behavior in low income countries are unclear. This study examines the prevalence, age of onset and sociodemographic correlates of suicide ideation, planning, and attempts among South Africans. METHOD: Nationally representative data are from the South Africa Stress and Health Study (SASH), a national household probability sample of 4,351 South African respondents aged 18 years and older conducted between 2002 and 2003, using the World Health Organization version of the composite international diagnostic interview (CIDI). Bivariate and survival analyses were employed to delineate patterns and correlates of nonfatal suicidal behavior. Transitions are estimated using life table analysis. Risk factors are examined using survival analysis. RESULTS: The risk for attempted suicide is highest in the age group 18-34 and Coloureds had highest lifetime prevalence for attempts. Cumulative probabilities are 43% for the transition from ideation to a plan, 65% from a plan to an attempt, and 12% from ideation to an unplanned attempt. About 7.5% of unplanned and 50% of planned first attempts occur within 1 year of the onset of ideation. South Africans at higher risk for suicide attempts were younger, female, and less educated. CONCLUSIONS: The burden of nonfatal suicidality in South Africa underscores the need for suicide prevention to be a national priority. Suicide prevention efforts should focus on planned attempts due to the rapid onset and unpredictability of unplanned attempts.     

Change of suicidal ideation induced by suicide attempt

Some studies have reported that a suicide attempt has a cathartic effect. We studied a change of suicidal ideation just before and after a suicide attempt to test whether a cathartic effect exists and, if a cathartic effect does exist, to identify factors that may affect it. Subjects consisted of 88 suicide attempters (29 males, 59 females, mean age=35.5 years) who attended the emergency medical center of Kobe City General Hospital, Kobe, Japan. Strength of suicidal ideation just before and after a suicide attempt was evaluated by 11 steps from 0 to 10, where 0 indicates no suicidal ideation and 10 indicates the strongest suicidal ideation. Subjects were also interviewed about any clinical backgrounds related to suicide attempts. Diagnoses were made by psychiatrists based on ICD-10. Scores of suicidal ideation decreased significantly after the suicide attempt in comparison with those just before the suicide attempt (P<0.0001). In suicide attempters of each generation under 60 years of age, there were significant decreases in scores of suicidal ideation after the suicide attempt, but not in those of over 60 years of age. Scores of suicidal ideation after the suicide attempt were significantly higher in the group of F4 classified by ICD-10 than that of F2. Our results indicate that the cathartic effect induced by suicide attempt is different among generations and psychiatric disorders.