Citation

Brown LK, Overholser J, Spirito A, Fritz GK. J. Am. Acad. Child Adolesc. Psychiatry 1991; 30(1): 95-99.

Affiliation

Department of Child Psychiatry, Rhode Island Hospital, Providence 02903.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1991, American Academy of Child Adolescent Psychiatry, Publisher Lippincott Williams and Wilkins)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

2005070

Abstract

Adolescent suicide attempts are often impulsive. It has been suggested that individuals who make nonimpulsive (premeditated) attempts have greater suicidal intent and are more hopeless than the impulsive attempters. Eighty-six adolescent suicide attempters were categorized according to the degree of premeditation of their attempt, as measured by two items of the Suicide Intent Scale. Sex, age, method of attempt, and the number of prior attempts were not useful discriminators between these groups. The nonimpulsive attempters were significantly more depressed and more hopeless than the impulsive attempters, as measured by several standardized scales. Measures of depression, hopelessness, and suicidal ideation were highly correlated in both groups. Anger turned inward and hopelessness were strongly correlated only in the premeditated group, suggesting that the nonimpulsive attempter's distress may bear a strong relationship to self anger.

Language: en