Citation

Robinson K, Scharinger C, Brown RC, Plener PL. Eur. Child Adolesc. Psychiatry 2022; ePub(ePub): ePub.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2022, Holtzbrinck Springer Nature Publishing Group)

DOI

10.1007/s00787-022-01960-5

PMID

35226164

Abstract

Although self-injurious thoughts and behaviors are a global health concern, little is known about suicidal threat/gesture(s) where a person leads others to believe they want to end their lives when they have no intention to do so. This study assessed the lifetime prevalence of self-injurious thoughts and behaviors among both community adolescents (n = 1117) and in clinical youth (n = 191). Suicide threats/gestures were common among youth; 12.2% of community adolescents and 18.0% of clinical youth reporting having made a suicide threat/gesture, most commonly in the context of other self-injurious thoughts and behaviors. Across both samples, suicide threats/gestures were not uniquely associated with suicide attempts, and youth who reported suicide threats/gestures in the context of a history of self-harm or suicide plan(s) were no more likely to report a history of suicide attempt(s). Suicide threats/gestures were distinguished from suicide attempts in that they primarily fulfilled positive social functions, rather than autonomic functions.

FINDINGS suggest that suicidal threats/gestures are common in both community and clinical youth, and are not uniquely associated with suicide attempts, but rather function to communicate distress to others.

Language: en

Keywords

Self-harm; Adolescence; Suicidal behavior; Non-suicidal self-injury; Suicide gesture; Suicide threat