Childhood sexual abuse was associated with earlier initiation of injection drug use. These data emphasize the need to integrate substance abuse prevention with postvictimization services for children and adolescents.

The association between help-seeking and nearly lethal suicide attempts was evaluated using data from a population-based, case-control study of 153 13- to 34-year-old suicide attempt case-patients treated at emergency departments in Houston, Texas, and a random sample of 513 control-subjects. Measures of help-seeking included whether the participant sought help for health/emotional problems in the past month, type of consultant contacted, and whether suicide was discussed during the interaction. Overall, friends/family were consulted most frequently (48%). After controlling for potential confounders, case-patients were less likely than control-subjects to seek help from any consultant (OR = 0.5, 95% CI = 0.3-0.8) or a professional (e.g., physician, counselor) consultant (OR = 0.5, 95%CI = 0.29-0.8). Among those who sought help, case-patients were more likely than to discuss suicide (OR = 2.6, 95% CI = 1.2-5.4), particularly with professionals (OR = 11.8, 95% CI = 3.2-43.2). Our findings suggest that efforts to better understand the role of help-seeking in suicide prevention, including help sought from family and friends, deserves further attention.

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