United States – Normal teens who often have low self-esteem, a tendency to feel that they are a nuisance for those around them and that suicide is a viable option are often more prone to suicidal thoughts and behaviors, as the study concludes.
In addition to the parents’ or caregivers’ depreciation, the researchers found that suicidal thoughts and behaviors were most probable, as reported by HealthDay.
Gender Disparity
Teen girls carrying these characteristics with them are at high risk compared to the findings published recently in the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.
“Preadolescent [suicidal thoughts and behaviors] are dramatically increasing, and it is crucial to identify risk factors that can be clinically assessed and modified with treatment,” said lead researcher Renee Thompson, an associate professor of psychological and brain sciences with Washington University in St. Louis.
Research Methodology
The research was conducted on 192 children between seven and twelve years of age using the risk perception questionnaires based on symptoms such as depression, feeling disconnected from other people or a burden to others, and inability to express one’s feelings.
The survey was carried out every week among the children whose guardians reported cases of self-harm and suicidal attacks and every month for the others for a year.
Findings and Impact
About 30% of the kids presented subthreshold major depression, and by the year of the study, 70 of them were reported to have suicidal thoughts or behaviors.
Altogether, the girls were found to be four times more prone to think of suicide or act on self-harming tendencies, the researchers determined.
Their depression got twice as severe, and they were ten times more likely to think about taking their own life or act on those thoughts.
Having a closer look at pre-teen’s responses of the ones having high risk a week before the suicidal behavior occurs, researchers found that there were some factors that led to this outcome the following week.
Predictive Factors
These issues comprised of restraints to express their emotions, subjective feelings of being a burden, and verbal abuse from caregivers, researchers went further to add. They realized that also the same factors affect teenagers and adults who have the same suicidal thoughts as them.
These facts all clearly indicate possible “treatment goals and preventive approaches which will reduce the risk” of suicidal thoughts in children, the authors noted, as reported by HealthDay.
988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline is available at all times if you or your loved one is going through suicidal feelings.