Can adolescent suicide attempters be distinguished from at-risk adolescents?

Psychiatric disorders, psychosocial dysfunction, family pathology, and environmental stressors are thought to be risk factors for adolescent suicide attempts. Variables from each of these categories were examined, by means of a structured interview and questionnaires, to determine whether a group of 21 adolescent suicide attempters could be differentiated from a group of 34 normal control subjects and a group of 15 at-risk adolescents (teenagers with known risk factors but without recent suicide attempt). The attempters differed significantly from control subjects on a large number of variables, particularly in the areas of substance abuse, depression, self-image, interpersonal relationships, communication patterns, family support, and problem behaviors. Only three items--the Beck Hopelessness Scale score, the SCL-90-R Positive Symptom Distress Index, and a history of suicidal ideation--differentiated the attempters from the at-risk adolescents. A discriminant analysis revealed that hopelessness and suicidal ideation were able to identify 93% of the suicide attempters.