The Relationship Between Lethality of Attempted Suicide and Prior Suicidal Communications in a Sample of Residential Youth

This study investigates the relationship between the number of suicidal communications prior to an attempt & the lethality of the attempt in a sample of adolescent youth in a residential treatment facility. The sample consisted of 46 youth who had attempted suicide while in a large group home residential facility over a 9-year period. Attempters who made fewer suicidal communications beforehand tended to use more lethal methods in their attempts. Attempters with 2 or more preceding suicidal commmunications had significantly lower lethality in their attempts than did those with fewer suicidal communications. Few differences emerged between the groups on demographic or psychosocial variables. (23 refs.)