Chapter
Suicidal Behavior in Children and Adolescents (IN: Internalizing Disorders in Children and Adolescents, edited by W M Reynolds)
Smith K
This chapter describes the prevalence of suicidal behavior in American children & adolescents. Methodological obstacles to the statistical analysis of suicide among young people are presented. Suicidogenic family processes & the role of substance abuse are discussed. This information is then interpreted on the basis of age-related trends, integrative models, ego vulnerabilities model, harsh conscience, paradoxically high self-expectations, impulse modulation, & external regulation of self-esteem. (74 refs) (SC)