Family environment, attitudes toward life and death, depression, and suicidality in elementary-school children

Emotional triggers and psychopathology associated with suicidal ideation in urban children with elevated aggressive-disruptive behavior

8.6% suicidal ideation (SI) was found among 349 urban 6-9 year olds in the top tercile of aggressive-disruptive behavior. SI was associated with more self-reported depression, ODD, conduct problems, and ADHD symptoms (ES 0.70-0.97) and 3.5-5 times more clinically significant symptoms. Parents rated more symptoms in older children associated with SI compared to parents of similar age children without SI, including greater somatic and behavior problems in 8-9 year olds with SI. Parent ratings did not differentiate SI and non-SI in 6-7 year olds. SI frequently co-occurred with thoughts about death. Children described anger, dysphoria and interpersonal conflict as motivators/triggers for SI and worries about safety/health as motivator/triggers for thoughts about death, suggesting that problems managing emotionally challenging situations are a specific factor in initiating SI. Universal and indicated interventions for children to strengthen emotional self-regulation and behavioral control are recommended to complement the current emphasis on suicide prevention among adolescents.

No-suicide agreements: high school students' perspectives

Researchers have studied what therapists and college students think about no-suicide agreements, but high school students might also be called on to use these kinds of agreements. To examine their perspectives, 96 Caucasian and African American high school students were randomly assigned to read a vignette about a 15-year old suicidal adolescent, Jamie, who met with a psychologist. Jamie's therapist used 1 of 2 treatments: therapy alone or therapy in conjunction with a no-suicide agreement. Students rated their attitudes toward the intervention. Overall, students were more positive toward using no-suicide agreements as part of the treatment of suicidal adolescents than using therapy alone. High school students are similar to college students in their positive view of no-suicide agreements. Their endorsement, however, was lukewarm.