1. [Suicide in children and adolescents - a 13-year study with 78 cases].
- Author
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Radeloff D, Lempp T, Albowitz M, Oddo S, Toennes SW, Schmidt PH, Freitag CM, and Kettner M
- Subjects
- Adolescent, Age Factors, Alcoholism mortality, Alcoholism psychology, Cause of Death, Child, Cross-Sectional Studies, Female, Germany, Humans, Illicit Drugs, Incidence, Male, Retrospective Studies, Substance-Related Disorders mortality, Substance-Related Disorders psychology, Young Adult, Suicide Prevention, Suicide psychology, Suicide statistics & numerical data
- Abstract
Objective: Updated and regional data about the circumstances of death and the psychosocial backgrounds of suicides can be helpful for improving suicide-preventive strategies in childhood and adolescence., Method: All known cases of completed suicide in the period from 1996 to 2008 in persons ≤ 21 years of age from the Institute of Forensic Medicine, Frankfurt/Main were analysed in a retrospective study. We included 78 cases and matched them with a comparative sample of 1,797 adult suicides of persons > 21 years of age., Results: Within the chosen period there was a 44 % decrease in incidence of suicide in the group of ≤ 21-year-olds. The fraction of incarcerated persons in this group was 8.0 % compared to 2.56 % in the adult group. Differences from suicide in adulthood were also demonstrated in terms of suicide-related substance abuse (less detection of alcohol, more frequent detection of illicit drugs) and choice of methods (more deaths by being hit by a train)., Conclusions: Incarcerated adolescents are an important risk group for suicidal tendency and need increased, well-directed preventive measures. Clinical adolescent psychiatry should pay special attention to the indications in this study of an age-dependent association of drug use in suicide.
- Published
- 2012
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