Suicide and violent death among adolescent suicide attempters

A total of 422 subsequent suicide attempts commited by 362 people 15-19 years old in the Helsinki area in 1973-1982 were investigated to find risk factors for subsequent suicide or violent death. By the end of 1982, 8.7% of 115 boys and 1.2% of 247 girls had died. Eight (2.2%) had committed suicide. The mean annual mortality for suicide and violent death was 20-fold compared with the mortality for suicide and violent death among people 15-19 years old in Finland at that time. The risk ratios of the boys for suicide (2.0) and for violent death (2.4) were greater than that of the girls (0.6 and 0.3 respectively). The risk ratio of psychotic persons for suicide was 4.2 and for violent death 4.1. Seriousness of intent heightened the risk, whereas degree of lethality did not influence it. The people who expressed clear-cut difficulties as a reason for their suicide attempt seemed to have a smaller risk for suicide or violent death than people whose reasons remained unclear. Attempted suicide among boys is a serious symptom for predicting subsequent suicide that should be addressed in suicide prevention.