NCJ Number
127100
Journal
Adolescence Volume: 25 Issue: 100 Dated: (Winter 1990) Pages: 855-865
Date Published
1990
Length
11 pages
Annotation
In the San Diego Suicide Study, a Federally-funded clinical and toxicological investigation of 283 suicides, 14 of 133 consecutive suicides under age 30 were committed by adolescents. The psychological data from these cases are studied in more detail and compared to other studies of adolescent suicide.
Abstract
Of the 14, all were white and unmarried; 13 were male. Half the subjects were in school, and the majority met criteria for at least one psychiatric disorder, the most common of which were substance use disorder and adjustment disorder with depressed mood. Almost all subjects had histories of adaptational or behavioral problems and while six of the victims had received treatment at some time, only one was in active treatment at the time of death. Eleven of the subjects had sustained an interpersonal loss or rejection as a recent stressor, and in nine cases, this stressor was found to have precipitated the suicide. The paper concludes that, like adults, most adolescents who commit suicide have had long histories of disturbed behavior or psychiatric symptoms, most have experienced situational stressors, and only a few have received treatment for their problems. Further research on prediction based on identified risk factors needs to be undertaken from the standpoint of suicide prevention. 4 tables and 18 references