Citation

Sękowski M, Gambin M, Sumlin E, Sharp C. Psychiatry Res. 2022; 312: e114558.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2022, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.psychres.2022.114558

PMID

35483136

Abstract

Several studies report that borderline personality disorder (BPD) is a risk factor for suicidality in adults. However, this issue requires further research in adolescents, as it is not clear which individual BPD symptoms are significant correlates of suicidality in this age group. The main aim of the current study was to test which symptoms of BPD are associated with suicidality in adolescent inpatients, even when controlling for age, gender, and depressive symptoms. Inpatient adolescents (N = 339) aged 12-17 years completed the Childhood Interview for DSM-IV Borderline Personality Disorder, the Beck Depression Inventory-II, the Modified Scale for Suicidal Ideation, and reported their number of lifetime suicide attempts. Multivariable regression analyses showed that, after controlling for confounding variables, overall BPD symptom severity was positively related to suicidal ideation and suicide attempts. Of the individual BPD symptoms, identity disturbance, chronic emptiness, avoid abandonment, and transient paranoia were the most robust correlates of suicidal ideation intensity, and only identity disturbance was associated with the number of lifetime suicide attempts. To assess the risk of suicidality in youth, it is essential to assess for BPD symptoms; it is important to focus on adolescents' subjective feelings to assess the severity of identity disturbance and chronic emptiness.

Language: en

Keywords

Suicidal attempts; Depression; Suicidal ideation; Depressive symptoms; BPD; Identity diffusion; Otto F. Kernberg