"Delinquent" behaviour masks high risk of suicide attempts

"Delinquent" behaviour masks high risk of suicide attempts

"Delinquent" behaviour often masks depression and a high risk of suicide attempts, according to a University of Queensland study.

School of Psychology lecturer Dr Kate Sofronoff interviewed 200 young people aged between 15 and 21 who had recently attempted suicide, engaged in serious risk-taking, were depressed, exhibited problem behaviours or exhibited a combination of these problems.

"I identified two main groups of adolescents who attempted suicide - those who were depressed (mainly girls) and those who displayed risk-taking behaviour from a young age (mainly boys)," she said.

Dr Sofronoff's PhD study is believed to be one of the most comprehensive analyses of suicidal youth ever conducted in Queensland. According to UNICEF figures, Australia has the highest rate of youth suicide in the world at 16.4 per 100,000 - twice the rate of Japan which is often viewed as a country with a high youth suicide rate.

She said she had been alerted to the high rate of depression and suicidal behaviour among "delinquent", risk-taking teenagers by a Queensland Children's Court judge and court social workers.

"There was a high correlation between suicide attempts and young people who were serious risk-takers. These are children and adolescents who are regularly in trouble at school, with their families or the law. From an early age, they may be displaying behaviours such as truancy or class disruption, smoking, drinking or engaging in sexual activity," Dr Sofronoff said.

"However, even though this group is just as much at risk of suicide attempts as the depressed group, they are less likely to receive treatment because they don't present as depressed. They are seen as ?bad' not ?sad', mainly exposed to staff within the criminal justice system who may not realise psychological help is needed. It may also not be their role to make this assessment."

She said the young people in this group were also difficult to deal with and sometimes non-compliant with treatments. "I found suicidal adolescents had significantly poorer problem-solving skills than non-suicidal adolescents," she said. "A feeling of hopelessness was more significant for the risk-taking, suicidal adolescents. Their decision-making abilities were often poorer than the other group - they were not only eager to engage in risk-taking behaviour but deeply regretted missing out on a risky activity."

Suicide prevention programs teaching children life skills such as problem-solving and decision-making were needed from primary school with re-enforcement of these techniques throughout high school, she said.

For more information, contact Dr Kate Sofronoff (telephone 07 3365 6411).