[YSPNetwork] research article on suicidal teens at age 30

[Donna NOONAN]

YSPNetworkers,
 
Here is an interesting article that underscores the need for effective
prevention and identification.
 
Suicidal teens show lasting mental effects 
Last Updated: 2006-07-26 12:24:05 -0400 (Reuters Health)NEW YORK
(Reuters Health) - Teenagers who contemplate suicide are likely to have
emotional and behavioral problems that last throughout young adulthood,
new study findings suggest. 
The results, say the study authors, show that teens' suicidal thoughts
need to be addressed not only because of the immediate danger, but also
for their future well-being. 
The study, published in the American Journal of Psychiatry, found that
15-year-olds who thought about suicide were more likely than other teens
to become 30-year-olds with emotional, social and behavioral
difficulties. 
At age 30, they were twice as likely as their peers to have a
psychiatric disorder such as anxiety or depression, and they were far
more likely to have contemplated or attempted suicide in recent years. 
Beyond overt psychiatric disorders, suicidal teens were also more
likely to develop emotional and behavioral problems that pervaded their
everyday lives. 
Their families more often pointed to "problem behaviors" that persisted
into adulthood -- such as episodes of aggression or withdrawal from
family and friends. Also, they generally had lower self-esteem and more
relationship problems than their peers at age 30. 
These findings point to "enduring links" between suicidal thoughts in
adolescence and poorer mental health years later, write the researchers,
led by Dr. Helen Z. Reinherz of the Simmons College School of Social
Work in Boston. 
The findings are based on interviews with 346 30-year-olds who had been
taking part in a study of mental health and development since they were
5 years old. At age 15, 22 percent had admitted to sometimes
contemplating suicide. 
The problem of teen suicide has garnered much attention in recent
years, with the finding that antidepressants may increase the risk,
Reinherz and her colleagues note. Much less attention, they add, has
gone toward the long-term consequences of teenagers' suicidal thoughts.

"These findings," the researchers write, "underscore the need for
identification and treatment of adolescent suicidal ideation in order to
alleviate immediate distress and forestall future negative
consequences." SOURCE:  Helen Z. Reinherz, Jennifer L. Tanner, Sasha R.
Berger, William R. Beardslee, and Garrett M. Fitzmaurice; Adolescent
Suicidal Ideation as Predictive of Psychopathology, Suicidal Behavior,
and Compromised Functioning at Age 30. American Journal of Psychiatry,
July, 2006 163(7); 1226-1232.
Let me know if you'd like a copy of this article and I'll get it to
you.DonnaDonna G. Noonan, MPH, CHES
Youth Suicide Prevention Coordinator
Injury Prevention & Epidemiology Program
Oregon Public Health Division
800 NE Oregon, Ste 772
Portland, OR 97232
NEW PHONE NO.:  Phone: 971-673-1023 
NEW FAX NO. Fax 971-673-0990
donna.noonan at state.or.us
http://oregon.gov/dhs/ph/ipe/ysp/index.shtmlJoin YSPNetwork, Youth
Suicide Prevention listserv for the Pacific Northwest at
http://listsmart.osl.state.or.us/mailman/listinfo/yspnetwork
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