A study on adolescent suicide ideation consulting in emergency

Abstract

Introduction

Suicide is one of the most leading cause of death for teenagers in the world. Suicide ideation is known risk factor for suicide completion. Suicidal adolescents rarely asked for help. The contact with the health care system is an opportunities to screen for suicidal ideation.

Aims

The aim of this study is to examine the prevalence and the risk factors of suicidal ideation among adolescents consulting in emergency.

Methods

Our study was a transversal type, descriptive and analytic. It was conducted with 106 adolescents consulting in emergency for somatic complains. Each participant filled out demographic questionnaire and suicidal ideation questionnaire (SIQ). The SIQ is a self-report instrument for suicidal ideation, appropriate for adolescents. The SIQ has 30 items. The respondent is asked to choose from a 7-point continuum (6 = “Almost every day” to 0 = “I never had this thought”) to assess the frequency of that particular thought within the last month. Cut-off score for the SIQ is a sum of 41 and higher, indicating the presence of serious suicidal ideation.

Results

Adolescents were aged between 12 and 19 years with an average age 16.34 ± 2.54 years; 47.2% were boys. According to the SIQ, the prevalence of suicide ideation during the last month were 14.2%.

The risk factors for suicidal ideation among Tunisian adolescents were the female gender, middle school level, low family income, parents’ divorce, parental neglect, family conflicts and previous psychiatric disorder.

Conclusion

General physicians should regularly screen for suicidal thoughts in their adolescent patients with these characteristics.

Disclosure of interest

The authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.