Familial study of suicidal behavior among adolescents in Slovenia

The number of adolescents who attempt or complete suicide is increasing. Risk factors range from mental disorders, to problems at school, family problems, or difficulties in establishing relationships. A further important, and too often underestimated, risk factor for adolescent suicide is the presence of suicidal behavior in the adolescent's family. We investigated 184 high school adolescents in a region in Slovenia with a high suicide rate (30/100,000/year). They were questioned by means of an anonymous questionnaire about the presence of suicidal behavior in their relatives and about the presence of suicidal thoughts, plans, and acts in themselves. The results revealed that 13% of the adolescents studied had a relative who had attempted suicide and a further 9% of the adolescents had lost a relative due to suicide. About half of all females and almost a third of males had had suicidal thoughts (differences between sexes were statistically significant: chi2 = 6.13; p < .01). Attempted suicide among relatives was positively correlated with the presence of suicidal plans among adolescents (phi = 0.15; p < .05). This correlation proved to be even stronger and statistically more significant in men when we split the sample by gender. All variables (suicidal thoughts, suicidal plans, and suicide attempts) in the adolescent males positively correlated with attempted suicide among their relatives ((phi = 0.28, p < .01; phi) = 0.26, p < .05; phi = 0.34, p < .01; respectively). Our results speak in favor of a higher risk of suicidal behavior among adolescents with suicidal behavior in their families.