Risk factors for serious suicide attempts among youths aged 13 through 24 years

Abstract

Objective: To examine associations between a series of sociodemographic factors, childhood experiences, and mental disorders and risk of serious suicide attempt in young people aged 13 through 24 years and to explore the joint relationship between these factors and vulnerability to serious suicide attempt.

Method: The study used a case-control design in which a sample of 129 young people who had made serious suicide attempts was contrasted with 153 randomly selected community controls. Measures included sociodemographic factors (educational qualifications, annual income, residential mobility), childhood experiences (parental relationship, parental care, childhood sexual abuse), and psychiatric morbidity.

Results: On the basis of multiple logistic regression, those making serious suicide attempts reported elevated rates of sociodemographic disadvantage (p < .0001), higher rates of disadvantageous childhood experiences (p < .05), and elevated rates of psychiatric morbidity (p < .0001).

Conclusions: Risks of serious suicide attempt among young people increased with extent of exposure to childhood adversity, social disadvantage, and psychiatric morbidity, with each of these factors making independent contributions to risk of serious suicide attempt.