Suicidal Behavior Among Psychiatric Inpatient Children: an Estimate of Prevalence

The prevalence of suicidal behaviour among pre-adolescent child psychiatric inpatients has been estimated to range between 18 & 80% of the inpatient population. This study is a chart review of the documentation of suicidal behaviours displayed by 45 consecutive child psychiatric inpatient admissions. According to the Pfeffer Spectrum of Suicidal Behavior Scale, 31% of the sample had recently engaged in some form of suicidal behaviour & 9% had made a life-threatening attempt. (7 refs.)