Citation

O'Neil KA, Puleo CM, Benjamin CL, Podell JL, Kendall PC. Suicide Life Threat. Behav. 2012; 42(3): 305-317.

Affiliation

Kelly A. O'Neil, Connor M. Puleo, Courtney L. Benjamin, Jennifer L. Podell, Philip C. Kendall, Department of Psychology, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, USA; and Jennifer L. Podell, Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, UCLA Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, Los Angeles, CA, USA.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2012, American Association of Suicidology, Publisher John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1111/j.1943-278X.2012.00091.x

PMID

22509976

Abstract

Evidence is mixed regarding an independent association between anxiety and suicidality in youth. Study 1 examined suicidal ideation in treatment-referred, anxiety-disordered youth (N = 312, aged 7-17). Forty-one percent of anxiety-disordered youth endorsed suicidal ideation. Anxiety disorder severity, global impairment, and current depressive symptoms predicted suicidal ideation in a multivariate model. Study 2 compared youth (N = 216, aged 7-14) with and without anxiety disorders. Higher rates of suicidal ideation were associated with anxiety diagnosis, and levels of anxiety predicted suicidal ideation after controlling for comorbid depressive disorders, current depressive symptoms, and global impairment. Results support an association between anxiety disorders and suicidal ideation in treatment-referred youth and recommend routine screening for suicidal ideation in this population.

Language: en