Adolescent suicide in New York City: plenty of room for new research

Abstract

The act of adolescent suicide continues to threaten adolescent populations in New York City (NYC). Consistent positive correlations have been found between a plethora of risk factors present in NYC adolescent populations and suicidal ideations and behaviors. Psychiatric conditions that may contribute to the rate of adolescent suicide in NYC include depression, bipolar disorder, substance abuse and schizophrenia. Unique factors that have been found to contribute to increased rates of completed suicides in NYC include the phenomena of railway suicides and suicide tourism. Homelessness and income inequality in NYC have also been consistently correlated with increased suicidality; with one study finding suicide attempts reported by a significant percentage of new admissions to homeless shelters. Adolescent populations in NYC that have been identified as particularly vulnerable to suicidality include runaway youth, homosexual youth, victimized adolescents and adolescents with a recent history of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Longitudinal studies in NYC have found that physical and sexual abuse is highly predictive of adolescent suicidality, with variations by ethnic group. Currently, there is a disturbing lack of sufficient research on adolescent suicide in NYC, specifically regarding causal factors, the effects of television on suicide, comorbid suicidality and drug abuse, and cultural factors contributing to suicide. This dearth of literature may be related to the ethical problems inherent in suicide research, self reports and/or post mortem analyses.

Are there sensitive periods when child maltreatment substantially elevates suicide risk? Results from a nationally representative sample of adolescents

“…First, we found that exposure to physical or sexual abuse increased the odds of engaging in suicidal ideation, plans, and attempts during adolescence. These results are in line with previous research, which has shown that exposure to physical or sexual abuse increases the risk of engaging in suicidal behavior (Ganz & Sher, 2012;Miller et al, 2013).…”

Suicidios en menores de 20 años. México 1998-2011

“…44,45 Como lo mencionan Beautrais, Dervic y Pompili entre otros, 17,33,36,46,47 el ahorcamiento es el método más utilizado por ser económico, de fácil instalación y no requerir de una planeación laboriosa; aunque es de letalidad más baja que otros métodos. En México, no hay estudios que indiquen las causas por las que este método es el más utilizado tanto en hombres como en mujeres.…”

A School-Based Suicide Risk Assessment Protocol

“…Precipitating conditions also consist of moving (Qin, Mortensen, & Pedersen, 2009), homelessness (Ganz & Sher, 2012), problems with the police and legal difficulties (Hoberman & Garfinkel, 1988), and bullying (Luukkonen, Rasanen, Hakko, & Riala, 2009). Adolescents who experience multiple, long-term stressors-particularly those youth with a limited set of problemsolving strategies-are most vulnerable to suicidal behavior (Grover et al, 2009).…”

“…Parental history of psychopathology (Brent et al, 1999), loss of a friend or family member to suicide (Thompson, Kuruwita, & Foster, 2009), paternal and maternal absence (Garfinkel, Froese, & Hood, 1982), maladaptive parenting practices and childhood maltreatment (Johnson et al, 2002), and the experience of physical and/or sexual abuse (Ganz & Sher, 2012) have all been linked to higher rates of suicidal behavior in youth. The quality of family relationships is also an important factor to consider when determining risk for suicide.…”