Gender Differences in Adolescent Suicide (IN: Suicide Prevention: a Holistic Approach, edited by D De Leo, A Schmidtke, & R F W Diekstra)

This Finnish study characterized 13- to 22-year-old female suicide victims in a nationwide unselected youth suicide population & to compare them with male victims in terms of family background, suicide methods, frequency, severity of mental disorders & antisocial behaviours, & history of psychiatric treatment. Previous suicide attempts were more prevalent among female than male suicides. Antisocial behaviours & violence were more common among male suicides. Unexpected findings were: the frequency of substance abuse or dependence among the females victims was almost as high as among the males & a high proportion of female victims completed suicide under the influence of alcohol. (29 refs.)