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Abstract
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BACKGROUND: The aim of the present study was to evaluate suicidal adolescents against various cohorts of psychiatric nonsuicidal youngsters.
METHODS: The following groups were included in the study: 19 adolescents hospitalized because of a suicide attempt:23 nonsuicidal in-patients: 30 youngsters treated in an out-patient clinic (17% of whom have either thought or threatened to commit suicide, but none had actually attempted it). The following questionnaires were administered: Suicide Potential Scale (SPS). Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), State Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), Multiaxial Anger Inventory (MAI), Past Acts of Aggression and Violence (PAAV), Impulsivity Scale (IS), and Bells Object Relations Reality Testing Inventory (BORRTI).
RESULTS: Suicidal in-patients were found to be different from the two other psychiatric groups (in most of the cases) or from only one of them in the following variables: current and past distress, more undesirable preceding events, separation of parents, regarding death as pleasant (all SPS dimensions), depression (BDI), anxiety (STAI, SPS), impulsivity (IS), aggression (PAAV), defense mechanisms of reaction formation and compensation (SPS), object relations dimensions of egoentricity, reality distortion, delusions and hallucinations (BORRTI).
CONCLUSIONS: The present study suggests that compared to other hospitalized and nonhospitalized psychiatric patients, adolescents hospitalized because of a suicide attempt are significantly more disturbed on a variety of psychopathological dimensions, psychosocial parameters, death perception, defense mechanisms, object relations and reality testing.
Language: en |