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.
Highlights
During the last several decades, suicide rate in young people has increased in several countries [1]
We have examined suicidal ideations and attempts in 6- to 13year-old children and we have compared depressive symptoms and subjective quality of life according to suicidality
In this study, which concerns psychiatric inpatients as well as normal-school children, it is clear that suicide attempts and ideations do occur in prepubertal children, and this fact bodes that such behavior can serve as a precursor to future suicide attempts during adolescence
Summary
During the last several decades, suicide rate in young people has increased in several countries [1]. Tishler et al think this fact may be due in part to the ideas described previously, which children are too cognitively and/or developmentally immature to express suicidal feelings [6] They add other reasons for the lack of these data in children younger than 12 years, including underreporting of known suicides ( by parents) and mistaken classification of completed suicide and attempts as accidents [7,8]. 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
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