[A study of suicidal tendencies in adolescents in the secondary level]

A study carried out among 2,850 Québec adolescents, aged 12 to 18 and coming from four high schools in the Trois-Rivières area, shows that 15.4% of them admit to having seriously thought of committing suicide. These teenagers are at different stages of the suicidal process. Hence, 4% admit to nurturing serious thoughts about suicide: 7.9% say they are at the planning stages and 3.5% have actually attempted suicide. The characteristics of the families involved are fairly the same for all categories of suicidal tendencies. However, the fathers of the youth who have made attempts have less schooling than the father of the other teens with suicidal tendencies. Furthermore, the adolescents who have attempted suicide report a greater number of events that are key to their suicidal thoughts. The persistence of suicidal thoughts, the depressive state, the feelings of an existential void and the despair all grow in function of the seriousness of suicidal tendencies. These affective-type variables best distinguish the different categories of suicidal tendencies.