Suicidal Behavior in German Adolescents

Author(s):  
Joana Straub ◽  
Ferdinand Keller ◽  
Nina Sproeber ◽  
Michael G. Koelch ◽  
Paul L. Plener

Objective: Research in adults has identified an association between bipolar disorder and suicidal behavior. This relationship, however, has been insufficiently investigated in adolescents to date. Methods: 1,117 adolescents from 13 German schools (mean age = 14.83, SD = .63; 52.7% females) completed an extended German version of the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CES-D), which assesses depressive and manic symptoms during the last week, as well as the Self-Harm Behavior Questionnaire (SHBQ) for the assessment of lifetime suicidal behavior. Results: In the present sample 39.4% of the girls and 23.1% of the boys reported lifetime suicidal thoughts and 7.1% of the girls as well as 3.9% of the boys a lifetime history of suicide attempts. 18.7% of the adolescent sample revealed elevated symptoms of depression and 9% elevated levels of mania symptoms. Elevated sum scores of depression and mania were associated with a higher number of suicidal ideations and suicide attempts. A block-wise regression analysis revealed that sum scores of depression and mania predicted suicidal ideations best. Concerning suicide attempts, the best predictors were age as well as depression and mania sum scores. Conclusions: Suicidal behavior was reported more often when adolescents demonstrate symptoms of mania as well as symptoms of depression than when they demonstrate only depressive symptoms. The presence of bipolar symptoms in adolescents should alert clinicians to the heightened possibility of suicidal behavior.

SLEEP ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zach Simmons ◽  
Gary Burlingame ◽  
Juergen Korbanka ◽  
Kevin Eastman ◽  
Douglas Thomas ◽  
...  

Abstract Study Objectives Insomnia is a risk factor for suicidal behavior including attempts and death by suicide. We investigated whether insomnia symptom severity was associated with suicidality and death by suicide in patients with psychiatric disorders. Methods The sample included 180 deceased patients with psychiatric disorders seen at Weber Human Services between 2008 and 2018 who completed the Outpatient Questionnaire-45.2 (OQ) prior to death. Insomnia symptom severity was assessed using item 41 from the OQ. Manner of death was determined by death records and autopsy reports. History of suicidality was determined through electronic medical records. Cases were grouped into 4 lifetime categories: non-suicidal (n=30), suicidal ideation (n=36), suicide attempt (n=95), and death by suicide (n=19). Demographic, medical, and psychiatric features of each group were compared using linear regression. Logistic regression was used to determine whether insomnia symptom severity was associated with lifetime suicidality severity grouping, adjusting for psychiatric disorders commonly linked to suicidality. Results Lifetime suicidality was associated with sleep problems, fatigue, headaches, and psychiatric disorders (i.e., depressive, personality, and trauma-related disorders). Referenced to the non-suicidal group, greater insomnia symptom severity was significantly associated with suicide attempts and death by suicide, with odds ratios (OR) of OR=2.67, p=0.011, and OR=5.53, p=0.002, respectively, even after adjusting important psychiatric diagnoses. Conclusions Results suggest that insomnia symptom severity endorsed during a clinical visit is associated with heightened suicidality, especially suicidal behavior. The presence of insomnia symptoms in patients with psychiatric disorders may indicate risk for suicide and is a target for suicide prevention.


2009 ◽  
Vol 31 (2) ◽  
pp. 114-118 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fernando Silva Neves ◽  
Leandro Fernandes Malloy-Diniz ◽  
Izabela Guimarães Barbosa ◽  
Paulo Marcos Brasil ◽  
Humberto Corrêa

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to test the hypothesis that the polarity of the first mood episode may be a marker for suicidal behavior, particularly the violent subtype. METHOD: One hundred and sixty-eight patients diagnosed with bipolar disorder (DSM-IV) were grouped according to type of first episode: depression or manic/hypomanic. Groups were compared for demographic and clinical variables. We performed logistic regression in order to test the association between first episode polarity and suicidal behavior. RESULTS: We found that depressed patients have a lifetime history of more suicide attempts. However, univariate analysis of number of suicide attempts showed that the best model fits the bipolar II subtype (mean square = 15.022; p = 0.010) and lifetime history of psychotic episodes (mean square = 17.359; p = 0.021). Subgrouping the suicide attempts by subtype (violent or non-violent) revealed that manic/hypomanic patients had a greater tendency toward attempting violent suicide (21.2 vs. 14.7%, X² = 7.028, p = 0.03). Multiple logistic regression analysis confirmed this result. CONCLUSION: Depressed patients had more suicide attempts over time, which could be explained by the higher prevalence of bipolar II subtype in this group, whereas manic/hypomanic patients had a lifelong history of more frequent violent suicide attempts, not explained by any of the variables studied. Our results support the evidence that non-violent suicide attempters and violent suicide attempters tend to belong to different phenotypic groups.


1993 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 147-156 ◽  
Author(s):  
Margaret Gatz ◽  
Boo Johansson ◽  
Nancy Pedersen ◽  
Stig Berg ◽  
Chandra Reynolds

The Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression scale (CES-D) was administered in Swedish to two representative samples, one aged 84 to 90 (mean = 87), the second aged 29 to 95 (mean = 61). There were both linear and quadratic differences with age: the oldest individuals were highest on depressive symptoms, but younger adults were higher than middle-aged. Dimensions or subscales identified by previous studies were generally replicated, including a sadness and depressed mood factor, a psychomotor retardation and loss of energy factor, and a well-being factor (on which items are reverse-scored to indicate depression). The findings support cross-national use of the CES-D to assess self-reported symptoms of depression in adults and older adults.


2014 ◽  
Vol 2014 ◽  
pp. 1-5 ◽  
Author(s):  
Beatriz Camarena ◽  
Ana Fresán ◽  
Emmanuel Sarmiento

Personality traits are important candidate predictors of suicidal behavior. Several studies have reported an association between personality/temperament traits and suicidal behavior, suggesting personality traits as intermediary phenotypes related to suicidal behavior. Thus, it is possible that suicide attempts can be accounted for by increased familial rates of risk personality traits. The aim of this work was to evaluate personality traits in affective disorder patients with attempted suicide and to compare them with the personality trait scores of their parents. In addition, ITC scores in the two groups were compared with a healthy control sample. The patients evaluated met the DSM-IV criteria for major depression disorder or dysthymia and had a documented history of suicide attempts. Psychiatric diagnoses of patients and parents were done according to the SCID-I and the personality was assessed using the Temperament and Character Inventory. We analyzed 49 suicide attempt subjects and their parents (n=95) and 89 control subjects. We observed that temperament and character dimensions were similar between patients and their parents (P>0.05). In particular, we observed that high HA and low P, SD, and CO were shared among families. Our study is the first to report that the personality traits of affective disorder patients with a history of attempted suicide are shared between patients and their parents.


2009 ◽  
Vol 24 (S1) ◽  
pp. 1-1
Author(s):  
C. Silva ◽  
I. Gil ◽  
M.A. Mateus ◽  
Ó. Nogueiro

Several studies have been conducted to establish a profile of the suicidal/parasuicidal patient. Also several factors have been identified as possibly influencing the suicidal rates, including the religious practices.Objectives:Characterize the profile of suicidal behavior in a sample of patients followed in a general psychiatric consultation.Methods:It was done an analytical observational study of a random sample of 100 patients followed in a general psychiatric consultation. A survey was conducted with the collection of socio-economic, religious aspects and clinical data, and it was consulted the patient"s clinical process. Data analysis was done in Excel 2003.Results:The sample was consisted mostly by women (74%), being the most representative age group between 40 and 50 years (27%), mostly married (61%), 24% had 2 children and 65% lived in the rural area. The clinical diagnosis (ICD-9) was in 46% of cases, neurotic depression. 52% consider themselves religious not practitioners, being 90% catholics. History of suicide attempts/parasuicide occurred in 32% of patients, in the form of drug intoxication (31%) or with another method (11%). Most of the individuals said to have already thought about suicide at least once in their lifetime (74%). Only 8% had current suicidal ideation. Family history of suicide occurred in 27%, particularly in first degree family members, mainly by drowning (7%) and hanging (7%).Conclusions:Our results suggest that exists a high prevalence of suicidal behavior in this patients. For that reason, it should be done a systematic screening for suicidal ideation in this risk population.


Salud Mental ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 44 (3) ◽  
pp. 127-134
Author(s):  
Héctor Rubén Bravo-Andrade

Introduction. Between 27.3% and 31.5% of adolescents in Mexico may present symptoms of depression. This issue has been studied from both family and resilience perspectives, although few studies have examined their interaction. Objective. In this study, we evaluated the influence of intrafamily relations and resilience on depressive symptoms in Mexican high school students, for which an analysis by sex was conducted. Method. For this correlation cross-sectional study, we evaluated 511 adolescents using the Revised Depression Scale of the Center for Epidemiological Studies, the short version of the Intrafamily Relation Evaluation Scale, and the Revised Resilience Questionnaire for Children and Adolescents. We performed multiple linear regression analyzes by sex using the stepwise method. Results. For young men, the predictor variables were expression, difficulties, and problem-solving (R2a = .34), whereas for young women the variables were union and support, difficulties, and empathy (R2a = .25). Discussion and conclusion. This study indicates specific aspects of intrafamily relations and resilience to develop sex-sensitive interventions to prevent depression in high school students.


2019 ◽  
Vol 17 (8) ◽  
pp. 681-696 ◽  
Author(s):  
Umberto Albert ◽  
Diana De Ronchi ◽  
Giuseppe Maina ◽  
Maurizio Pompili

Background: Historically, OCD has been considered to be associated with a relatively low risk of suicide. Recent studies, on the contrary, revealed a significant association between OCD and suicide attempts and ideation. A huge variation in prevalence rates, however, is reported. Objective: To estimate prevalence rates of suicide attempts and suicidal ideation in individuals with OCD, and to identify predictors of suicide risk among subjects with OCD. Methods: We systematically reviewed the literature on suicide risk (ideation and/or attempts) and OCD. We included studies with appropriate definition of OCD, cross-sectional or prospective design, separating clinical samples from epidemiological studies, that employed a quantitative measure of suicidality and/or reported an outcome measure of the association between suicidality and OCD or examined factors associated with suicidality. Results: In clinical samples, the mean rate of lifetime suicide attempts is 14.2% (31 studies: range 6- 51.7%). Suicidal ideation is referred by 26.3-73.5% of individuals (17 studies, mean 44.1%); current suicidal ideation rate ranges between 6.4 and 75% (13 studies, mean 25.9). Epidemiological studies found that OCD increases significantly the odds of having a lifetime suicidal ideation as compared to the general population (OR: 1.9-10.3) and a history of lifetime suicide attempts (OR: 1.6- 9.9). Predictors of greater suicide risk are severity of OCD, the symptom dimension of unacceptable thoughts, comorbid Axis I disorders, severity of comorbid depressive and anxiety symptoms, past history of suicidality and some emotion-cognitive factors such as alexithymia and hopelessness. Conclusion: Overall, suicidality appears a relevant phenomenon in OCD.


2018 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 56-75 ◽  
Author(s):  
E.V. Borisonik ◽  
A.B. Kholmogorova

The suicidal behavior of a member of a family influences the emotional well-being of his/her relatives. This paper presents the results of a pilot study of emotional well-being, coping strategies and characteristics of the family system among relatives of persons with suicidal behavior. The study involved 40 people, the total sample was divided into three subgroups: relatives of patients who survived the first suicide attempt (n = 16); relatives of patients after multiple suicide attempts (n = 10); relatives of persons who committed suicide (n = 14). In the first part of the study, the symptoms of emotional distress were analyzed for the entire sample. Relatives of people with different forms of suicidal behavior are at risk of depression: two-thirds of the combined sample showed increased symptoms of depression. The coping strategies of positive redefinition and personal growth are negatively correlated with symptoms of depression. In the second part of the study, we analyzed differences between subgroups. The severity of the symptoms of depression is significantly higher in the subgroup of relatives of people with completed suicide compared to relatives of those who survived a single suicide attempt, the indicators of hardiness and cohesion of the family system are lower in the families of people with multiple suicide attempts compared to other forms of suicidal behavior.


2002 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. 408-416

We carried out two studies to test the hypothesis that altered central serotonergic function, as assessed by lower prolactin (PRL) response to fenfluramine (D-FEN), is more closely associated with suicidal behavior than a particular psychiatric diagnosis. A D-FEN test was performed in 85 major depressed inpatients, 33 schizophrenic inpatients, and 18 healthy controls. We showed that PRL response to D-FEN is a marker of suicidality, regardless of psychiatric disorder. We then examined the association en the serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine) receptor 5-HT(2A) gene polymorphism (T102C) and suicide in a sample of Brazilian psychiatric inpatients (95 with schizophrenia, 78 with major depression) and 52 healthy controls. No differences were found in genotypic frequencies across patients and controls. Overall, no differences were found between patients with (n=66) and without (n=107) a history of suicide attempt. We also compared patients with a history of severe suicide attempts (lethality>3; n=32) and patients without such a history (n=107), but they did not exhibit different genotypic frequencies either. These results show thai the 5-HT(2A) gene polymorphism (T102C) may not be involved in the genetic susceptibility to suicidal behavior.


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