Attempted Suicide in Youth: Its Relationship to School Achievement, Educational Goals, and Socioeconomic Status

• NCJ Number: 115449
• Journal: Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology Volume: 16 Issue: 4 Dated: (1988) Pages: 459-471
• Author(s): S A Lewis; J Johnson; P Cohen; M Garcia; C N Velez
• Date Published: 1988
• Length: 13 pages
• Grant Number(s): MH36971
• Sponsoring Agency: National Institute of Mental Health
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Research (Applied/Empirical)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

Twenty-six youths ages 9 to 18 who attempted suicide were compared with 725 nonattempters on measures of school achievement, educational goals, socioeconomic status, and depression.

Abstract

The participants were part of an ongoing longitudinal study started in two New York counties in 1975 when the youths were between ages 1 and 10. The analysis considered 751 youth-parent pairs interviewed in 1983-84. Results were similar to those of studies using clinical samples in that suicide attempters had significantly lower school achievement than nonattempters. The relationship between attempted suicide and low school achievement seemed to be explained by the effects of depression. Youths of lower socioeconomic status also tended to be more likely to attempt suicide than those of higher socioeconomic status. However, socioeconomic status appeared to have little effect on the relationship between attempted suicide and school achievement. Results also suggested that children of mothers with low educational goals for them may be more at risk for attempted suicide than youths whose mothers have higher educational goals for their children. Data tables and 41 references. (Author abstract modified)