Prevalence and correlates of suicidal ideation and suicide attempts in preadolescent children: A US population-based study

Hannah R Lawrence,Rachel Y Levin,Alexandra H Bettis,Brianna Pastro,Ana E Sheehan,Rachel F L Walsh,Taylor A Burke,Richard T Liu

doi:10.1038/s41398-021-01593-3

Abstract

The present study evaluated sociodemographic and diagnostic predictors of suicidal ideation and attempts in a nationally representative sample of preadolescent youth enrolled in the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Study. Rates and predictors of psychiatric treatment utilization among suicidal youth also were examined. Eleven thousand eight hundred and seventy-five 9- and 10-year-old children residing in the United States were assessed. Children and their parents/guardians provided reports of children’s lifetime history of suicidal ideation, suicide attempts, and psychiatric disorders. Parents also reported on sociodemographic characteristics and mental health service utilization. Multivariate logistic regression analyses were employed to evaluate sociodemographic and diagnostic correlates of suicidal ideation, suicide attempts among youth with suicidal ideation, and treatment utilization among youth with suicidal ideation and suicide attempts. Lifetime prevalence rates were 14.33% for suicidal ideation and 1.26% for suicide attempts. Youth who identified as male, a sexual minority, or multiracial had greater odds of suicidal ideation, and sexual minority youth and youth with a low family income had greater odds of suicide attempts. Comorbid psychopathology was associated with higher odds of both suicidal ideation and suicide attempts. In youth, 34.59% who have suicidal ideation and 54.82% who had attempted suicide received psychiatric treatment. Treatment utilization among suicidal youth was lower among those who identified as female, Black, and Hispanic. Suicidal ideation and attempts among preadolescent children are concerningly high and targeted assessment and preventative efforts are needed, especially for males, racial, ethnic, and sexual minority youth, and those youth experiencing comorbidity.

Highlights

PREDICTORS OF SUICIDAL IDEATION AND SUICIDE ATTEMPTS IN PREADOLESCENT CHILDREN: A US POPULATION-BASED STUDY Suicide is a leading cause of death among youth [1], but strikingly little is known regarding predictors of suicide risk in preadolescent children
When considering all sociodemographic variables together, female sex was associated with decreased odds of suicidal ideation (OR = 0.71, 95% CI 0.62–0.81), as was Hispanic ethnicity (OR = 0.73, 95% CI 0.60–0.87), identifying as Black (OR = 0.77, 95% CI 0.62–0.95), and having parents with a high school or GED level education (OR = 0.78, 95% CI 0.62–0.97)
Sociodemographic characteristics associated with increased odds of suicidal ideation included identifying as a sexual minority (OR = 3.81, 95% CI 2.49–5.83), multiracial (OR = 1.39, 95% CI 1.13–1.70), having parents who were not married (OR = 1.30, 95% CI 1.10–1.53), and being in the second (OR = 1.29, 95% CI 1.03–1.63) or third (OR = 1.39, 95% CI 1.15–1.69) quintile for family income

Summary

METHOD

The ABCD Study is a longitudinal, multimethod, multi-informant study prevalence estimates of suicidal ideation and suicide attempts among following children in the US over 10 years to examine mental health youth with various sociodemographic characteristics and mental health trajectories from childhood through adulthood. The ABCD Study surveyed 11,875 youth with suicidal ideation and suicide attempts. A series of bivariate logistic regression analyses were conducted to test sociodemopreadolescent children currently residing in the US, all of whom were 9 or graphic and diagnostic predictors of suicidal ideation, suicide attempts, 10 years of age at enrollment. In the case of analyses with suicidal ideation as the criterion variable, youth with a lifetime history of suicide attempts were excluded to compare “pure” suicidal ideation versus no suicidal ideation. In the case of analyses with suicide attempts as the criterion variable, lifetime history of suicide attempt versus no lifetime history of suicide attempt was compared among youth with suicidal ideation. SPSS 27.0 was used to conduct all analyses and weighting procedures were applied to accommodate the complex sampling frame of the survey and to generate nationally representative estimates

RESULTS

DISCUSSION

Strengths and limitations