Suicidal Thinking Among Adolescents With a History of Attempted Suicide

A self-administered questionnaire was used in a school-based survey of 5 middle schools. 5,423 usuable questionnaires were obtained. Data on crude prevalence showed thoughts about death, wishing to be dead, thoughts of suicide, & suicide plans were all significantly higher among youths with a history of attempts. Multivariate analyses revealed the strongest factors associated with current suicidal thinking were history of attempts, depression, & recent life stress. The strong association between history of suicide attempts, current ideation, & depression indicates that past suicide attempts occur in the context of other signs of psychosocial dysfunction. (50 refs.)