SUICIDAL CHILDREN GROW UP - RATES AND PSYCHOSOCIAL RISK-FACTORS FOR SUICIDE ATTEMPTS DURING FOLLOW-UP

Objective: Rates and psychosocial risk factors for suicide attempts during a 6 to 8-year follow-up period were compared for 25 predominantly prepubertal inpatient suicide attempters, 28 inpatient suicidal ideators, 16 nonsuicidal inpatients, and 64 nonpatients. Method: Standard research instruments were used to interview subjects and parents. Cox proportional hazard regression analyses were used to identify risk factors for a suicide attempt in the follow-up. Results: No deaths occurred during follow-up. Suicide attempters were six times and suicidal ideators were three times more likely than were nonpatients to attempt suicide during follow-up. Poor social adjustment and mood disorder close to a recurrent suicide attempt were the strongest risk factors. Conclusions: Risk assessment should focus on identifying symptoms of mood disorders and impaired social adjustment in children with histories of suicide attempts and psychiatric hospitalization.