The outcome of adolescent suicide attempts

A sample of 265 adolescents hospitalized between 1971 and 1980 in a psychiatric unit following a suicide attempt was studied to evaluate outcome. After an average of 11.5 years, 48% of the original sample, or 127 subjects, could be traced. Thirty-nine per cent of these subjects showed signs of improvement, 22% appeared to be unchanged and 33% were worse. Substantial dropout rates were found in postdischarge care, only 32% of the patients having been followed up for a sufficient amount of time. Fifteen subjects had died, only one of whom from a natural cause. Of the remaining 14, 5 had committed suicide and 9 had died from unnatural or violent causes other than suicide, the cause of death appearing in all cases to be closely linked to the subject's adolescent disorders. The implications of these findings for suicide prevention are discussed.