TY - JOUR PY - 2006// TI - Substance use, suicidality, and adolescent-onset schizophrenia: an Israeli 10-year retrospective study JO - Journal of child and adolescent psychopharmacology A1 - Shoval, Gal A1 - Sever, J. A1 - Sher, Leo A1 - Diller, Robyne A1 - Apter, Alan A1 - Weizman, Abraham A1 - Zalsman, Gil SP - 767 EP - 775 VL - 16 IS - 6 N2 - Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the link between the use of specific types of substances and suicidality in adolescent inpatients with schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder. Methods: We performed a 10-year naturalistic retrospective study of 178 adolescent inpatients diagnosed as suffering from either schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder. A comparison was made between the suicide-attempting adolescent inpatients and the non-attempting subjects, by the use of specific types of substances, measurements of psychotic, depressive, and aggressive symptoms, and clinical data reported during their hospitalization. Results: The suicide attempters reported considerably greater usage of inhalants and lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD). Alcohol and methylene-dioxy-methylamphethamine (MDMA) were also used significantly more by this group. However, no differences were found in the usage of cannabis, amphethamines, cocaine, and opiates. The suicide-attempting patients were found to have had more previous psychiatric admissions, a greater level of deliberate self-harm behavior, and a higher level of suicide ideation, but a decreased severity of psychotic symptoms. Conclusions: This study is the first report of the association between specific types of substances and suicidality in the high-risk population of adolescent psychotic inpatients. The strong association between inhalants, LSD, alcohol, and MDMA with suicidality is relevant to suicide prevention and intervention programs in adolescent-onset schizophrenia.
Language: en
LA - en SN - 1044-5463 UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1089/cap.2006.16.767 ID - ref1 ER -