Sleep and mood disorders among youth

Research suggests that sleep plays an important role in the development, progression, and maintenance of mood disorder symptoms among children and adolescents.1-4 While most of the extant research focuses on the relationship between insomnia and mood disorders, other sleep disorders such as delayed sleep phase, inadequate total sleep duration and bedtime resistance in younger children may […]

When night falls fast: Sleep and suicidal behavior among adolescents and young adults

Sleep disturbances have been linked to suicidal ideation and behaviors in adolescents. Specifically, insomnia and nightmares are associated with current suicide risk and predict future ideation. Associations between hypersomnia, sleep apnea, and suicide remain inconclusive. Potential biological mechanisms underlying these relationships include executive functioning deficits and hyperarousal. Related psychological factors may include thwarted belongingness, perceived […]

The prevalence of off-label use and supratherapeutic blood levels of outpatient psychotropic medication in suicidal adolescents

Introduction: Adolescents with mental disorders show an increased risk of suicidal phenomena. Vice versa, suicidality is a serious adverse event of psychotropic drug therapy in adolescents. There are only a few new psychotropic agents approved for this young age group. We evaluated the (pre-pandemic) prevalence of off-label use as well as detailed blood concentrations of outpatient […]

Predictive factors of substance misuse and abuse in South Korean adolescents: A secondary data analysis of the 2021 Youth Risk Behavior Web-based Survey

Purpose This study aimed to identify the general characteristics and health behaviors of students with non-therapeutic substance use. Methods This secondary data analysis used data from the 17th Korea Youth Risk Behavior Web-based Survey (2021). Analyses of the 54,848 adolescents used descriptive statistics, the Rao–Scott χ2 test, and logistic regression. Results The risk factors for substance […]

Perceptions of key stakeholders on peer led strength building program for suicide prevention among young adolescents: A qualitative study from Karnataka, India

Context: Adolescent suicides are a significant public health concern in India and understanding the intersecting perspectives becomes imperative for the prevention of various mental health concerns. Aim: Assessing perceptions of various key stakeholders, that is, mental health experts, school and college teachers, and District Mental Health Program staff about peer-led strength building programs for suicide […]

Emotion dysregulation, bullying, and suicide behaviors in adolescents

Background: Among adolescents, rates for suicide attempts and non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) remain high. Adolescents also often experience bullying, which has been found to associate with increased risk of suicide attempts and NSSI. Emotion regulation difficulties are associated with both bullying victimization and self-harm behaviors in adolescents. Aims: The current study examined the relationship between emotion […]

Distinct correlation network of clinical characteristics in suicide attempters having adolescent major depressive disorder with non-suicidal self-injury

Suicidal behavior and non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) are common in adolescent patients with major depressive disorder (MDD). Thus, delineating the unique characteristics of suicide attempters having adolescent MDD with NSSI is important for suicide prediction in the clinical setting. Here, we performed psychological and biochemical assessments of 130 youths having MDD with NSSI. Participants were divided […]

Breakfast habits, sedentary behavior, and suicide among Korean adolescents: A cross-sectional national study

This study aims to identify the relationships between breakfast habits, leisure-time sedentary behavior, and suicidal behaviors among Korean adolescents, including the mediating effect of leisure-time sedentary behavior on the relationship between breakfast habits and suicidal behaviors. We conducted a cross-sectional national study using secondary data from the 2017–2019 (13–15th) Korea Youth Risk Behavior Web-Based Surveys, […]

The effect of parent–adolescent discrepancies in reports of familial dysfunction and depression on suicidal ideation in adolescents

Introduction Parents and adolescents are often discrepant in their reports of adolescent psychosocial factors. Few studies have addressed parent–adolescent discrepancies in subjective ratings of familial dysfunction and depression as longitudinal predictor variables, and none have done so in a treatment setting for adolescents with acute suicidality. This study examined how parent–adolescent discrepancies in familial dysfunction […]

How to survive the long night? Longitudinal relationship between sleep problems and suicidal behavior among adolescents: The serial mediating roles of negative emotion, self-control, and nonsuicidal self-injury

Objective Sleep problems are a significant risk factor for identifying and preventing suicidal involvement among adolescents. However, there is limited evidence to assess the underlying mechanisms between them. This study investigated the longitudinal relationship between sleep problems and suicidal behavior and examined whether this relationship was moderated by negative emotions, low self-control, and nonsuicidal self-injury […]

A profound absence of counseling interventions for suicide prevention among youth in Africa: A call to action based on an empty scoping review

Objective One-third of all global suicide deaths occur among adolescents and young adults, making suicide the second leading cause of death among young people. Nearly 80% of suicide deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries, and many African nations have higher rates of suicide than global averages. However, interventions are scarce. We conducted a scoping […]

Examining highly novel positive future thinking in suicidal and nonsuicidal adolescents

Objective Although traditionally considered protective, certain forms of positive future thinking (PFT) may be associated with greater suicide risk. In this first a priori investigation of potential maladaptive forms of PFT, we tested whether novelty (i.e., dissimilarity to past experiences) and lack of attainment of the imagined positive future may explain counterintuitive associations between PFT […]

Coping self-efficacy and thoughts of self-harm among adolescents in Vietnam: A longitudinal study

We aimed to determine the effect of coping self-efficacy on thoughts of self-harm among adolescents attending high school in Hanoi, Vietnam. Longitudinal data were collected using the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale Revised and the Coping Self-Efficacy Scale among 552 Year 10 students. The prevalence of thoughts of death and/or self-injury on at least […]

Suicidal risk during adolescence: Could covitality be part of the solution?

Objective The covitality model suggests that the co-disposition and synergy of core psychosocial assets (i.e., covitality) buffer the negative impact of stressful events and prevent the emergence of mental health problems during adolescence. At this stage of development, suicide already constitutes the leading cause of unnatural death in Europe. The present study aimed to examine […]

Unveiling adolescent suicidality: Holistic analysis of protective and risk factors using multiple machine learning algorithms

Adolescent suicide attempts are on the rise, presenting a significant public health concern. Recent research aimed at improving risk assessment for adolescent suicide attempts has turned to machine learning. But no studies to date have examined the performance of stacked ensemble algorithms, which are more suitable for low-prevalence conditions. The existing machine learning-based research also […]

Social-ecological perspective on the suicidal behaviour factors of early adolescents in China: A network analysis

Background In early adolescence, youth are highly prone to suicidal behaviours. Identifying modifiable risk factors during this critical phase is a priority to inform effective suicide prevention strategies. Aims To explore the risk and protective factors of suicidal behaviours (ie, suicidal ideation, plans and attempts) in early adolescence in China using a social-ecological perspective. Methods […]

Nonsuicidal self-injury as a time-invariant predictor of adolescent suicide ideation and attempts in a diverse community sample

Objective: Longitudinal data on adolescent self-injury are rare. Little is known regarding the associations between various forms of self-injurious thoughts and behaviors over time, particularly within community samples that are most relevant for prevention efforts. This study examined nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) as a time-invariant, prospective predictor of adolescent suicide ideation, threats or gestures, and attempts […]

Suicidality among sexual minority and transgender adolescents: A nationally representative population-based study of youth in Canada

Background: Very little research has described risk of suicidal ideation and suicide attempt among transgender youth using high-quality, nationally representative data. We aimed to assess risk of suicidality among transgender and sexual minority adolescents in Canada. Methods: We analyzed a subsample of adolescents aged 15–17 years from the 2019 Canadian Health Survey on Children and Youth, a […]

Spatial, geographic, and demographic factors associated with adolescent and youth suicide: A systematic review study

Background: Suicide is a public health issue and a main cause of mortality among adolescents and the youth worldwide, particularly in developing countries. Objectives: The present research is a systematic review aiming to investigate the spatial, geographical, and demographic factors related to suicide among adolescents and the youth. Methods: In this systematic review, two researchers examined PsycINFO, Web […]

Young people’s pathways to a specialist suicide prevention service and the influence of caregiver prior suicidality and mental health treatment

Aim Timely help-seeking and pathways to care (PtC) have been linked to positive outcomes in suicidal adolescents. While the importance of formal contacts is recognized, caregivers also play a significant role in these pathways. Caregiver’s familiarity with mental health issues may influence an adolescent’s PtC. This study explores the relationship between a caregiver’s prior suicidality […]

Protective factors for suicidal ideation: A prospective study from adolescence to adulthood

Adolescent suicidality is associated with negative outcomes in adulthood. Suicide prevention has traditionally focused on identifying risk factors, yet suicide rates have remained stable. With suicidality often going undetected—especially suicidal ideation, further knowledge about protective factors is needed. The main objective of this study was to investigate potential protective factors for suicidal ideation from adolescence […]

The role of “envisioning the future” in the development of resilience among at-risk youth

The objective was to explore the process by which adolescents develop resilience and change their risk behaviors despite multiple stressors in their environment. The design was exploratory using grounded theory to understand the process from the teens’ perspectives. Semistructured interviews were conducted with 32 individuals-28 adolescents (age range 16-21 years) and 4 adults (age range […]

Risk and protective factors in adolescent suicidal behaviour: A network analysis

Given that death by suicide continues to rank among the top three causes of death during adolescence, new psychological models may contribute critical insight towards understanding the complex interactions between risk and protective factors in suicidal behaviour. The main objective of this study was to analyse the psychological network structure of suicidal behaviour and putative […]