Non-fatal Suicidal and Life-threatening Behavior Among 13 to 17 Year Old Adolescents Seeking Emergency Medical Care

In suicidal behavior emergency room admissions of 13-17 year olds at the Brockton Hospital (Massachusetts) females outnumber males 2:1. Female frequency of suicide attempts & suicide gestures was 2-4 times that of males. Repeat episodes of self-inflicted injury were more common among females. They type of the initial episode was a powerful predictor of a repeat occurrence. Data for this study was collected over a 4-year period (1979-83) from 20 106 admissions. 7 ref.