Emergency Department Youth Patients With Suicidal Ideation or Attempts: Predicting Suicide Attempts Through 18 Months of Follow‐Up

2016/11/03 by Joan Rosenbaum Asarnow, Michele Berk, Lily Zhang +2

paper · doi:10.1111/sltb.12309

Abstract

This prospective study of suicidal emergency department ( ED ) patients (ages 10–18) examined the timing, cumulative probability, and predictors of suicide attempts through 18 months of follow‐up. The cumulative probability of attempts was as follows: .15 at 6 months, .22 at 1 year, and .24 by 18 months. One attempt was fatal, yielding a death rate of .006. Significant predictors of suicide attempt risk included a suicide attempt at ED presentation (vs. suicidal ideation only), nonsuicidal self‐injurious behavior, and low levels of delinquent symptoms. Results underscore the importance of both prior suicide attempts and nonsuicidal self‐harm as risk indicators for future and potentially lethal suicide attempts.

Related

• Factor Analysis of the Suicide Intent Scale With Adolescent Suicide Attempters
• A controlled examination of acute warning signs for suicide attempts among hospitalized patients
• Characteristics of Suicidality Among Adolescents
• Adolescent suicidal ideation and attempts: Prevalence, risk factors, and clinical implications.
• Survival Modeling of Suicide Risk with Rare and Uncertain Diagnoses