Adolescent suicide attempts
F. E. Crumley
The conditions of 40 adolescents in treatment following a suicide attempt
were diagnosed according to the multiaxial classification of the American
Psychiatric Association's proposed third edition of the diagnostic and
statistical manual. All were psychiatrically ill before the suicide
attempt. The most common diagnoses were those of depressive disorders and
substance abuse disorders on the clinical psychiatric syndrome axis and
borderline personality disorder on the personality and developmental
disorder axis. The typical patient was a polydrug-abusing girl with a
borderline personality disorder and a superimposed major depressive
disorder. The most prominent personality characteristics associated with
suicide attempts by these adolescents were a tendency to react severely to
a loss, poorly controlled rage, and impulsivity. Suicide attempts by
adolescents should be taken seriously by the physician and necessitate a
thorough search for a possible underlying pathological condition.
