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12 - Follow-up studies of child and adolescent suicide attempters

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 December 2009

By
Julie Boergers  and
Anthony Spirito
Edited by
Robert A. King  and
Alan Apter
Julie Boergers
Affiliation:
Clinical Assistant Professor, Brown Medical School, Rhode Island Hospital, 593 Eddy Street, Providence, RI 02903 USA e-mail: Julie [email protected] tel: +1-401-444-4515, fax: +1-401-444-7018
Anthony Spirito
Affiliation:
Director, Clinical Psychology Training Program, Potter Building, Box G-BH, Brown University, Providence, RI 02906 USA e-mail: [email protected] tel: +1-401-444-1833, fax: +1-401-444-1888
Robert A. King
Affiliation:
Yale University, Connecticut
Alan Apter
Affiliation:
Tel-Aviv University
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Summary

Introduction

Suicide attempts are a substantial public health problem among children and adolescents. In the U.S., suicide is the third-leading cause of death among adolescents (National Center for Health Statistics, 1993). It is estimated that approximately 9% of adolescents in the U.S. attempt suicide each year, and rates of completed suicide among U.S. adolescents increased 28.3% from 1980 to 1992 (Centers for Disease Control, 1995). In most developed countries, youth suicide has increased dramatically and is one of the leading causes of death among young people (Diekstra and Golbinat, 1993).

Adolescents who attempt suicide are at high risk for continued problem behaviors and repeat suicide attempts. Approximately 30% of adolescents who complete suicide have made a prior attempt (Shaffer et al., 1988). Thus, it is critical to better understand the postattempt course of adolescent suicide attempters, in order to inform both treatment and secondary prevention efforts. This chapter will summarize findings from follow-up studies of adolescent suicide attempters. Four major areas will be reviewed: (1) continued psychiatric disturbance, (2) rates of repeat attempts, (3) rates of completed suicide, and (4) treatment compliance.

There are several different ways to study the outcomes of adolescent suicide attempts. First, retrospective studies compare the characteristics of first-time suicide attempters with repeat attempters, or study individuals who have completed suicide via “psychological autopsies.” While these types of studies contribute important information, they are not follow-up studies, per se, and are beyond the scope of this chapter.

Keywords

adolescent suicide attemptersbehavioral dysfunctionfollow-up studiespsychiatric disturbancesurvival analysissuicidal behavior
Type
Chapter
Information
Suicide in Children and Adolescents , pp. 271 - 293
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2003

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