Citation

Ayer L, Hassler G, Ohana E, Sheftall AH, Anderson NW, Griffin BA. J. Child Psychol. Psychiatry 2024; ePub(ePub): ePub.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2024, John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1111/jcpp.13999

PMID

38659338

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Young children involved in the child welfare system (CWS) are at high risk for suicidal ideation (SI) at a time when overall rates of suicide death in this age group are rising. Yet risk factors for and changes in SI over time are poorly understood in this population.

METHOD: We combined data from two large representative longitudinal studies of children involved in the United States CWS. We examined patterns of SI among children who were between ages 7 and 12 years at the initial survey wave (N = 2,186), assessed at three waves using a measure of SI in the past 2 weeks. We conducted a multinomial regression to understand the baseline demographic, child maltreatment, and mental health characteristics that distinguish the trajectories.

RESULTS: There were eight different subgroups (Non-Ideators, Late Ideators, Boomerang Ideators, Delayed Ideators, Desisters, Boomerang Non-Ideators, Late Desisters, and Persisters). Differences in race, type of maltreatment, sex, and mental health symptoms were identified when comparing Persisters (SI at all three waves) to other groups.

CONCLUSIONS: These findings can help researchers and practitioners to develop strategies for better identifying CWS-involved children who are in greatest need of suicide risk monitoring and intervention.

Language: en

Keywords

child welfare; maltreatment; preteens; Suicidal ideation