Citation

Chavira DA, Accurso EC, Garland AF, Hough R. Child Adolesc. Ment. Health 2010; 15(1): 44-51.

Affiliation

University of California San Diego, Department of Psychiatry, 8939 Villa La Jolla Drive, Ste 200, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2010, John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1111/j.1475-3588.2009.00532.x

PMID

20221303

PMCID

PMC2835344

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Rates of suicidal ideation and behaviors as well as associated risk factors are examined among youth recruited from five public sectors of care (i.e. child welfare, juvenile justice, special education services, alcohol and drug services, and county mental health). METHOD: 1057 youth (ages 11-18) completed a diagnostic interview and questionnaires assessing relevant suicide risk factors at baseline and 2-year follow-up. RESULTS: While past year thoughts about death (28%) and talking about killing oneself (7.1%) were comparable to community norms, rates of lifetime suicide attempts (20.1%) were considerably higher in this sample. However, youth in the special education sector reported significantly more suicidal thoughts and behaviors relative to the other sectors. In multivariate analyses, longitudinal predictors of suicidality included major depression, female gender, and involvement in the special education sector. CONCLUSIONS: Efforts to implement screening and evidence based interventions for depression and suicide in the public sector, particularly special education services, are necessary.

Language: en