Suicide risk at juvenile justice intake

Many risks for suicidal behavior, identified in population samples, are elevated in justice youth. We examined whether risks operate similarly in a justice sample. We measured suicidal behavior and disorder on the Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children in 991 randomly selected youths, and examined associations between demographic, offense, and disorder characteristics and past attempts. Recent attempts were more common in girls, in those with depression or substance disorder, and in violent offenders. While more girls reported recent attempts regardless of depression, depressed boys' attempt risk was as high as girls'. Depression contributed more to attempt history than did substance disorder.