Adolescent suicide attempts and adult adjustment
Article [Version acceptée]
Fait partie de
Depression and anxiety ; vol. 32, no 4, p. 270-276.Résumé·s
Background: Adolescent suicide attempts are disproportionally prevalent and
frequently of low severity, raising questions regarding their long-term prognostic
implications. In this study, we examined whether adolescent attempts were asso-
ciated with impairments related to suicidality, psychopathology, and psychosocial
functioning in adulthood (objective 1) and whether these impairments were better
accounted for by concurrent adolescent confounders (objective 2).
Method: Eight
hundred and sixteen adolescents were assessed using interviews and question-
naires at four time points from adolescence to adulthood. We examined whether
lifetime suicide attempts in adolescence (by T2, mean age 17) predicted adult out-
comes (by T4, mean age 30) using linear and logistic regressions in unadjusted
models (objective 1) and adjusting for sociodemographic background, adolescent
psychopathology, and family risk factors (objective 2).
Results: In unadjusted
analyses, adolescent suicide attempts predicted poorer adjustment on all outcomes,
except those related to social role status. After adjustment, adolescent attempts
remained predictive of axis I and II psychopathology (anxiety disorder, antisocial
and borderline personality disorder symptoms), global and social adjustment,
risky sex, and psychiatric treatment utilization. However, adolescent attempts
no longer predicted most adult outcomes, notably suicide attempts and major
depressive disorder. Secondary analyses indicated that associations did not differ
by sex and attempt characteristics (intent, lethality, recurrence).
Conclusions:
Adolescent suicide attempters are at high risk of protracted and wide-ranging im-
pairments, regardless of the characteristics of their attempt. Although attempts
specifically predict (and possibly influence) several outcomes, results suggest that
most impairments reflect the confounding contributions of other individual and
family problems or vulnerabilites in adolescent attempters.
Autre·s localisation·s
Ce document diffusé sur Papyrus est la propriété exclusive des titulaires des droits d'auteur et est protégé par la Loi sur le droit d'auteur (L.R.C. (1985), ch. C-42). Il peut être utilisé dans le cadre d'une utilisation équitable et non commerciale, à des fins d'étude privée ou de recherche, de critique ou de compte-rendu comme le prévoit la Loi. Pour toute autre utilisation, une autorisation écrite des titulaires des droits d'auteur sera nécessaire.