Suicidal Ideation and Attempts during Middle Childhood: Associations with Subjective Quality of Life and Depression

Abstract

Background: Confronted to the increasing suicide rate in children, clinicians have to better understand and predict suicide-related behaviours (SRBs) in children with and without depressive symptoms. Aims: To investigate associations among suicidal tendencies (thoughts and/or attempts), depression and children's perceptions of subjective quality of life. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study of 157 children of 6-13-year-old. Results: Children who attempted or thought of suicide reported goodless subjective quality of life than nonsuicidal children did, and children who thought of or attempted suicide reported higher levels of depressive symptoms than nonsuicidal children. Limitations: A more rigorous approach to investigating suicidal ideation and depressive symptomatology as a diagnostic interview based on the DSM-IV-TR will be valuable to future progress in understanding children's suicidality. Conclusions: Results may reflect the confirmation of depressive symptoms as risk factors for suicidality and underline the high importance of social and emotional life context among suicidal children. For this reason, more effective recognition and comprehension of the underlying affective and social conditions of children with suicidality have special importance to prevent future suicidal behaviour during adolescence.

Who Is at Risk of Dying Young from Suicide and Sudden Violent Death? Common and Specific Risk Factors among Children, Adolescents, and Young Adults

“…The association between antisocial personality disorder and sudden violent death is consistent with previous research (Coffey et al, ; Repo‐Tiihonen et al, ). Similar to previous research (Bourdet‐Loubére, & Raynaud, ; Brent, Perper, Goldstein, et al, ; Cheng et al, ; Eapen & Crncec, ; Runeson, ; Williams, O'Connor, Eder, & Whitlock, ), we found an association between depression and suicide. Depression spectrum disorder was the largest diagnostic category in the suicide group (67% of cases), thus indicating that depression covaries with many other risk factors for suicide (Berman, Jobes, & Silverman, ; Lewinsohn et al, ).…”

Shame and Gender Differences in Paths to Youth Suicide

“…Known risk factors for suicidality among children, adolescents, and young adults include early neuroticism related to later depression, anxiety, substance abuse and conduct disorder, family problems, loss, and disturbed or insecure attachments in childhood, lack of parental care and maternal overprotection, stressful life events and risk behaviors (Fergusson, Woodward, & Horwood, 2000; Goschin, Briggs, Blanco-Lutzen, Cohen, & Galynker, 2013; King et al, 2001; Shiner, Scourfield, Fincham, & Langer, 2009). In the ages 6 to 13, suicide-related behaviors were associated with depressive symptoms and low perceived quality of life (Bourdet-Loubére & Raynaud, 2013).…”