Suicide Risk Assessment, Management and Prevention in Adolescents

A special issue of Behavioral Sciences (ISSN 2076-328X). This special issue belongs to the section "Psychiatric, Emotional and Behavioral Disorders".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 June 2024 | Viewed by 2768

Special Issue Editors


E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Translational Psychiatry Research Group, Instituto de Investigación Fundación Jiménez Díaz, 28040 Madrid, Spain.
Interests: suicidilogoy; depression; new technologies; ecological momentary assessment; creative writing

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, University Hospital 12 de Octubre, 28041 Madrid, Spain
Interests: suicidilogy; new technologies; ecological momentary assessment; ADHD

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Suicidal behaviour is a major health problem worldwide. This problem affects young people notably, which makes the number of years of potential life lost (YPLL) due to suicide very high. According to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the YPLL due to suicide exceeded those due to COVID-19 in 2020. It is precisely after the pandemic that there has been an increasing concern about suicidal behaviour in adolescents, which is also related to an increase in non-suicidal self-injury in this population. Many social, psychological and biological factors influence this phenomenon, posing a major scientific, social and clinical challenge. In this Special Issue, we will focus on suicidal behaviour in the adolescent population from the points of view of risk assessment, management and prevention. We welcome all submissions related to this topic, from various perspectives and disciplines, such as psychiatry, clinical psychology, social psychology, neuroscience or developmental science.

Dr. Alejandro Porras-Segovia
Dr. Inmaculada Peñuelas-Calvo
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • suicide
  • suicide attempt
  • suicide ideation
  • child and adolescent psychiatry
  • self-harm
  • non-suicidal self-injury
  • assessment
  • prevention

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

14 pages, 563 KiB  
Article
Perceived Stressful Life Events and Suicide Risk in Adolescence: The Mediating Role of Perceived Family Functioning
by Irene Caro-Cañizares, Nuria Sánchez-Colorado, Enrique Baca-García and Juan J. Carballo
Behav. Sci. 2024, 14(1), 35; https://doi.org/10.3390/bs14010035 - 03 Jan 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1344
Abstract
Aim: Suicidal behavior is a serious public health problem and a major cause of death among adolescents. Three categories of major risk factors have been identified: psychological factors, stressful life events, and personality traits. Severe and objective stressful life events (SLEs), such as [...] Read more.
Aim: Suicidal behavior is a serious public health problem and a major cause of death among adolescents. Three categories of major risk factors have been identified: psychological factors, stressful life events, and personality traits. Severe and objective stressful life events (SLEs), such as childhood mistreatment or abuse, have been clearly associated with higher rates of suicide risk. However, the relationship between suicide risk and adolescents’ perceptions of the SLE impact is not as clear. This paper studies the relationship between SLE impact perception and suicide risk and the possible mediating role of perceived family functioning in this relationship. The need for longer-term or more intense psychological or psychiatric treatment in relation to SLE impact perception is also addressed. Method: One hundred forty-seven adolescents aged 11–17 were consecutively recruited from the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Outpatient Services Department of a general hospital in Madrid, Spain. Self-informed questionnaires were used to assess suicide risk, SLEs, and family functioning. In addition, the clinical records of the participants were consulted to collect information about their treatment histories, including the number of appointments and the duration of follow-up. Results: SLE impact perception correlates significantly with suicide risk, the number of clinical appointments, the duration of treatment, and the perceived level of family functioning. The mediation model of the family functioning perception variable in the relationship between SLE impact perception and suicide risk is significant. The linear regression model of SLE impact perception and family functioning perception on suicide risk is also significant, accounting for 25.7% of the variance. Conclusions: Beyond the clear and proven effect of serious and objective SLEs, the perceived impact of SLEs reported by adolescents is related to an increased risk of suicide and more intense psychological and/or psychiatric follow-up. This relationship is mediated by the perceived level of family functioning. Adolescents’ perceptions of their life experiences and perceived family support may be key determinants of suicide risk prevention. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Suicide Risk Assessment, Management and Prevention in Adolescents)
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12 pages, 511 KiB  
Article
Early Risk Factors for Self-Injurious Thoughts and Behaviours: A UK Population-Based Study of 219,581 People
by Alejandro Porras-Segovia, Ana Pascual-Sanchez, Geva Greenfield, Hanna-Marie Creese, Sonia Saxena, Dougal Hargreaves and Dasha Nicholls
Behav. Sci. 2024, 14(1), 16; https://doi.org/10.3390/bs14010016 - 24 Dec 2023
Viewed by 1148
Abstract
Mental disorders are a major problem among young people. To identify early risk factors of self-injurious thoughts and behaviours (SITB) among young adults with mental health problems, this case–control study drew data from the Clinical Practice Research Datalink (CPRD), a primary care database [...] Read more.
Mental disorders are a major problem among young people. To identify early risk factors of self-injurious thoughts and behaviours (SITB) among young adults with mental health problems, this case–control study drew data from the Clinical Practice Research Datalink (CPRD), a primary care database covering 8% of the UK population. We explored the role of early factors (presenting at 8–14 years old) for suicidal ideation, suicide attempts, and non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) in young adulthood (age 18–25 years) by performing logistic regressions. Our sample consisted of 219,581 participants, of which 6.51% had at least one SITB in young adulthood. Early risk factors for SITB included early NSSI, suicidal ideation, sexual abuse, behavioural problems, and mood and psychotic symptoms. Frequency of GP visits had a protective effect. Lack of access to mortality data, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status was a limitation of the current study. In conclusion, early symptoms in late childhood/early adolescence can be the start of long-standing problems going into adult life. The training of primary care providers in suicide risk assessment and proper co-ordination with child and adolescent mental health services are crucial for suicide prevention. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Suicide Risk Assessment, Management and Prevention in Adolescents)
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Planned Papers

The below list represents only planned manuscripts. Some of these manuscripts have not been received by the Editorial Office yet. Papers submitted to MDPI journals are subject to peer-review.

Title: Protective and Risk Factors for Suicidal Behaviour in Self-Declared LGBTQ+ Adolescents
Author: Sánchez-Teruel
Highlights: * Adolescents belonging to sexual minorities show high suicidal vulnerability * Feeling trapped (entrapment) appears to be a more predictive risk variable for suicide attempts in this group than anxiety and depression. * Among others, parental style characterised by supportive and affectionate expression, availability and fluency in communication, is a highly predictive protective factor for resilience to suicide attempts.

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