Broken Homes and Social Isolation in Attempted Suicides of Adolescents

Compared life histories of 50 adolescents hospitalized for a suicide attempt to those of 32 adolescent nonattempters. There was a much greater likelihood of “broken homes” & “loss of a love object” in the attempters than in the nonattempters. Attributed to a continuing process that leads “the adolescent to progressive isolation from significant others…a chain reaction dissolution of any remaining meaningful social relationships in the (last few) weeks & days…” &, finally, the attempt.