Commentary: Prospective trajectory research in adolescent suicidal behavior--a possible basis for the development of empirically based interventions? A reflection on Adrian et al. (2016).

Abstract

Suicidal behaviour in adolescence is a heterogeneous set of behaviours comprising a variety of behaviours ranging from suicidal ideation, suicidal threats, suicidal gestures, nonsuicidal self-injurious behaviour through medically nonserious to medically serious suicide attempts. Probably the most productive approach to this problem is a developmental one, taking one key concept and tracking it prospectively over the course of time through the developmental stages of adolescence. A natural starting point for such a study is that of suicidal ideation (SI). Thus, the article published in JCPP (Adrian etal. 2015) represents a major contribution to the field. The authors used the data from an important adolescent development study, the Developmental Pathways Project (DPP) to look at this problem. This editorial looks at this article in the context of other major studies in the field. The notion of discerning trajectories and following them up prospectively is a potentially major contribution to paediatric suicide research. Although obviously challenging, linking these trajectories to interventions and to suicide registers could lead to major breakthroughs in adolescent suicide prevention.