Adolescent suicide: characterizing the need and identifying the predictive factors for preventive consultation or hospitalization in a rural community setting.

BACKGROUND

Studies from India consistently document the highest suicide rates in the world, and the majority of completed suicides had been within adolescents.

OBJECTIVE

To characterize the need and identify the predictive factors for preventive consultation or hospitalization for adolescent suicide in a community setting.

SUBJECTS

We prospectively collected data from 500 adolescents in a rural South Indian community with independent, trained raters.

METHODS

The need for suicide prevention was measured with the SAD PERSONS scale, socio-economic status with the Modified Kuppusamy Scale, depression and anxiety disorders with the Beck Depression Inventory and the Screen for Child Anxiety Related Emotional Disorders, respectively. The relationship between predictors and the need for preventive action was analyzed with univariate and multivariate regression analyses and a predictive model was built.

RESULTS

Of those investigated, 2% and 0.6% required emergency consultation and hospitalization, respectively. Males needed more preventive action (p=0.04). Age (OR=3.40, p=0.07), gender (OR=3.13, p=0.05), presence of anxiety (OR=16.35, p=0.001), or depressive (OR=42.59, p=0.001) disorder independently predicted a need for protective action and, together, contributed to a parsimonious predictive model.

CONCLUSIONS

The majority of adolescents in the community do not require preventive steps to address suicide risk. These predictors could identify the high-risk adolescents for suicide prevention and reduce the burden of care in the community.