Suicidal Ideation Among 8-Year-Olds Who Are Maltreated and at Risk: Findings From the LONGSCAN Studies

• NCJ Number: 208682
• Journal: Child Maltreatment Volume: 10 Issue: 1 Dated: February 2005 Pages: 26-36
• Author(s): Richard Thompson Ph.D.; Ernestine Briggs Ph.D.; Diana J. English Ph.D.; Howard Dubowitz M.D.; Li-Ching Lee Ph.D.; Kate Brody M.S.; Mark D. Everson Ph.D.; Wanda M. Hunter MPH
• Date Published: February 2005
• Length: 11 pages
• Sponsoring Agency: US Dept of Health and Human Services; National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD); National Ctr on Child Abuse and Neglect
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This study examined the presence of suicidal ideation in a sample of 1,051 8-year-old children identified as having been maltreated or being at risk for maltreatment.

Abstract

The current analysis was based on pooled data obtained from LONGSCAN, a consortium of studies that operate under common protocols at five sites in various regions of the United States. At each site, a sample of children who had been maltreated or were at risk of maltreatment was recruited when the children were 4 years old or younger. Children and caregivers participated separately in interviews that focused on demographics, parental and family functioning, life events and other contextual variables, and child functioning. Child suicidal ideation was determined with the endorsement of the item "Wanting to kill yourself" from the Trauma Symptom Checklist for Children, which was completed by the child. Of the 1,051 8-year-old children identified as having been maltreated or being at risk for maltreatment, 9.9 percent reported suicidal ideation. Many variables, including maltreatment, had bivariate associations with suicidal ideation. Severity of physical abuse, chronic maltreatment, and multiple types of maltreatment strongly predicted suicidal ideation. Multivariate analyses of the domains of proximity showed that only ethnic background remained significant among demographic variables; only witnessed violence and maltreatment remained significant among family or contextual variables; and only child psychological distress, substance use, and poor social problem solving remained significant among child variables. The effects of ethnicity, maltreatment, and witnessed violence on suicidal ideation were mediated by child functioning. There were few interactions between maltreatment and other factors to predict suicidal ideation. Thus, children who are maltreated and those exposed to community and domestic violence are apparently at increased risk of suicidal ideation, even by age 8. 4 tables and 45 references