Clinical Brown Bag

Adam Horwitz

Thursday, October 18, 2012, 12:00 pm  – Sunday, October 28, 2012, 1:00 pm
3021  East Hall

Event Information

Abstract:

Suicide is the 3rd leading cause of death among adolescents and young adults ages 15-24. Though many risk factors for suicidal behavior have been identified, there may be particular risk factors that are differentially predictive of future suicide attempts for males and females. This study examined 473 Washtenaw county residents, ages 15-24, seeking psychiatric emergency services between October 2009 and June 2010, and were assessed at future visits up to 18 months later. Data were collected from the Columbia-Suicide Severity Rating Scale, as well as nurse, social worker, and doctor notes. Lifetime suicide attempt history, suicidal ideation severity and intensity, and non-suicidal self-injury were examined as predictors of future attempts, and gender was assessed as a moderator of these relationships. In a series of binary logistic regressions, suicidal ideation severity, suicidal ideation intensity, non-suicidal self-injury, and lifetime suicide attempt history were significant predictors of future suicide attempts for both males and females. However, the duration of suicidal thoughts (an item of the suicidal ideation intensity scale) was predictive of suicide attempts for males, but not for females. This finding may reflect a ruminative process that is differentially handled by males and females.