Background: In children and adolescents with a depressive disorder,
predicting who will also go on to exhibit suicide-related behaviors (SRBs), including suicide
attempt or self-harm, is a key challenge facing clinicians. Aims: To
investigate the relative contributions of depressive disorder severity, hopelessness, family
dysfunction, and perceived social support to the risk of suicide-related behaviors.
Methods: This was a cross-sectional study of a group of
10–16-year-olds with major depressive disorders and dysthymic disorder.
Results: Child-rated depressive disorder symptom severity emerged as the
greatest predictor of risk. Hopelessness and family dysfunction were also significant
predictors of SRBs. In combination these variables were strong predictors, accounting for
66% of the variance. This is a cross-sectional study design, rather than longitudinal,
therefore risk prediction over time was not possible. Conclusions:
Understanding the child and adolescents depressive disorder symptom severity from their
perspective, their level of hopelessness, as well as their family context is critical in
understanding the risk of SRBs. These findings may help to provide direction for targeted
interventions to address these clinical risk factors.
- Content Type Journal Article
- Category Research Trends
- Pages 1-8
- DOI 10.1027/0227-5910/a000095
- Authors
- Sarah E. Hetrick, Orygen Youth Health Research Centre, Centre for Youth Mental Health, University
of Melbourne, Locked Bag 10, Parkville, Victoria 3052, Australia - Alexandra G. Parker, Orygen Youth Health Research Centre, Centre for Youth Mental Health, University
of Melbourne, Locked Bag 10, Parkville, Victoria 3052, Australia - Jo Robinson, Orygen Youth Health Research Centre, Centre for Youth Mental Health, University
of Melbourne, Locked Bag 10, Parkville, Victoria 3052, Australia - Nicole Hall, Academic Child Psychiatry Unit, Department of Pediatrics, University of Melbourne
and Royal Children’s Hospital and Murdoch Childrens Research Institute,
Parkville, Victoria, Australia - Alasdair Vance, Academic Child Psychiatry Unit, Department of Pediatrics, University of Melbourne
and Royal Children’s Hospital and Murdoch Childrens Research Institute,
Parkville, Victoria, Australia
- Sarah E. Hetrick, Orygen Youth Health Research Centre, Centre for Youth Mental Health, University
- Journal Crisis: The Journal of Crisis Intervention and Suicide Prevention
- Online ISSN 2151-2396
- Print ISSN 0227-5910