Childhood Adversity and Attempted Suicide Prior to Adulthood

Abstract

Background: Suicide attempts occurring early in development were thought to constitute a special concern regarding the slope of mood disorder developmental trajectories.Objective: This analysis examined relationships between childhood adversities and the odds of suicide attempt(s) prior to age 17.Participants and setting: Survey respondents (N = 2072) sampled from Amazon's Mechanical Turk described the extent of their childhood and adolescent exposure to childhood maltreatment and other developmental adversities. Methods:The sample was differentiated into subsets with versus without suicide attempt(s) prior to age 17. Results:The odds of suicide attempt(s) prior to age 17 were significantly (p < 0.001) higher for respondents reporting childhood sexual abuse (OR = 5.0), physical abuse (OR = 4.9), emotional abuse (OR = 3.7), peer bullying (OR = 3.1), parental neglect (OR = 1.6), and maternal battering (OR = 2.15). All adversities but exposure to maternal battering accounted for unshared variance in suicide attempts prior to age 17. Adverse Childhood Experiences Questionnaire exposure counts were associated incrementally with early suicide attempts. Efforts were made to differentiate between additive and interactive adversity risks. While significant adversity interactions were found, they tended to be modest in size and scope. The risks posed by single and dual adversity exposures seemed to limit the potential for substantial interactive effects. Conclusion:The odds of early suicide attempt(s) were markedly higher in this sample among respondents exposed to childhood adversity.