Suicidal Thoughts During Early Adolescence: Prevalence, Associated Troubles and Help-seeking Behavior

1600 French adolescents, 13-16 yrs, were interviewed. 14% of the boys & 23% of the girls had thought about suicide & 5 & 10% respectively said they thought about it frequently. Those who thought about suicide had more health problems & had more delinquent behavior. Although these youngsters spoke less readily about personal problems, they often sought physical health care. This discrepancy between communication difficulty & readiness to ask for physical care clearly indicates the need for help.