[Suicidal crises in children and adolescents].

Suicidal developments in childhood and youth must always be understood against the background of the development crisis. Destructive development can be the expression of a development conflict that has come to a head and is possibly connected with a hidden pathological dynamic in the family system. It can be the expression of a personality structure that has been damaged early on, in which the adaptation processes can no longer succeed in the framework of development. In youth, destructive development is always to be interpreted against the background of the phase-specific crises of puberty and adolescence. This understanding forms the basis for making not only the suicidal dynamic of the individual understandable, but also that of the family system. In order to evaluate the risk of suicide, the conflict levels, structural levels and relationship levels must be understood.