Clinical and Psychosocial Characteristics of Adolescent Pediatric Patients Hospitalized after Different Types of Suicidal Behaviors—A Preliminary Study

Abstract

The objective of this study was to examine the clinical characteristics of adolescents hospitalized after a suicide attempt or instrumental suicide-related behavior. Participants included thirty-six adolescents from the pediatric unit of a Polish hospital who made a nonfatal suicide attempt (SAA) or engaged in instrumental suicide-related behavior (IBA), as well as a general population sample (GPS). Psychosocial features were measured using the Kiddie Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia (K-SADS), the Social and Occupational Functioning Assessment Scale (SOFAS), the Suicide Behaviors Questionnaire–Revised (SBQ-R), the Psychache Scale (TPS), the State–Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), the Center of Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale for Children (CES-DC), and the Prodromal Questionnaire (PQ-16). The SAA group scored significantly higher than the IBA group and the GPS in modules related to irritability and anhedonia, voice hallucinations and delusions, suicidal acts, thoughts and ideation, and medical lethality. Additionally, the SAA scored higher on the SBQ-R and PQ-16 compared to the IBA group and the GPS. Although anxiety, mental pain, and depressive symptoms could not independently distinguish between the SAA and IBA groups, psychotic symptoms were more frequently present within the SAA group. The above symptoms may be important to consider when screening for suicide risk in the general population.

Correlates of suicidality in young people with depressive disorders: A systematic review

“…Substance use can develop as method of attempting to cope with psychological distress (the self-medication hypothesis) (Khantzian, 1997); there is evidence supporting a longitudinal association between SI and substance use in young people (Marschall-Lévesque et al, 2017;Rioux et al, 2021). The disinhibitory effects of alcohol and heightened tolerance for pain may also play important facilitatory roles in suicidal behaviour (Bridge et al, 2006;Deykin and Buka, 1994;Esposito and Clum, 2002;Grimmond et al, 2019; Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 56( 8) Reifman and Windle, 1995) and intoxication (with alcohol or other substances) is found in a high proportion of suicide attempts and suicide deaths among young people (Bohaterewicz et al, 2020;Lahti et al, 2014;Méan et al, 2005;Pelkonen and Marttunen, 2003). Given the relatively high comorbidity of depression and substance use in young people, non-judgmental screening and assessment for substance use could be a useful component of depression treatment approaches (Brown et al, 2016;Winters and Kaminer, 2008).…”