What are the characteristics of adolescent hospitalized suicide attempters?

AIM

To study the specificity of hospitalized adolescent suicide attempters.

METHOD

Among a national sample of students (n = 11,718, mean age = 16.6 years) studied in 1999, 9.2% (n = 1078) made at least one suicide attempt during their life (SA); 21.9% (n = 234) of them were hospitalized (HSA). We identified the risk factors (family, school, behavioral and psychological) of SA and HSA by comparing (by gender) a) suicide attempters to non-suicide attempters and b) hospitalized suicide attempters to non-hospitalized suicide attempters.

RESULTS

Both for girls and boys, the risk factors for SA varied. However, certain risk factors, particularly depressive mood, low self-esteem and poor parent-child relationships, were not associated with hospitalization. Hospitalized suicide attempters had more personal and social problems. But there is an important difference according to gender: in boys, hospitalization is related to physical fighting (OR = 2.2) and offences (OR = 3.4), in girls to running away (OR = 1.7), consumption of illegal drugs other than cannabis (OR = 2.0), having a living standard outside average (OR = 2.0) and going to a private school (OR = 1.7).

CONCLUSION

Suicide attempters with problem behavior are more at risk of being hospitalized than others. However, the difference between hospitalized and non-hospitalized subjects was smaller than expected.