ARTICLES
Informant-Specific Correlates of Suicidal Behavior in a Community Survey of 12- to 14-Year-Olds

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ABSTRACT

Objectives

To arrive at a better estimation of informant-specific correlates of suicidal behavior in young adolescents and to see how agreements and discrepancies between child and parent informants can contribute to the development of research and interventions.

Method

The weighted sample from the Quebec Child Mental Health Survey conducted in 1992 included 825 adolescents, aged 12 to 14 years, and their parents. The adolescent and one parent were questioned by two different interviewers. The response rate was 80.3%. Three categories of independent variables were assessed: adolescent, family, and socioeconomic characteristics. Logistic regression models were based on the adolescent and parent informant reports.

Results

Parents identified 6 of the 59 adolescents having reported suicidal ideation and 2 of the 36 adolescents having reported suicide attempts. Two informant-specific models of correlates of suicidal behavior were found. The adolescent model included internalizing and externalizing mental disorders, family stressful events, and parent–adolescent relationship difficulties, while the parent model included perceiving a need for help for the adolescent, parent's depressive disorders, and parent–adolescent relationship difficulties.

Conclusion

The study shows the relevance of considering informant-specific correlates of suicidal behavior in the development of research and interventions targeting youths suicidal behavior.

Section snippets

Sample and Procedure

The weighted sample included 825 adolescents, aged 12 to 14 years, and their parents as part of the Quebec Child Mental Health Survey carried out in 1992 on a representative sample of 2,400 children and adolescents aged 6 to 14 years. The adolescents selected had to be living at home for at least 2 weeks a month during the 12 months before the interview. The adolescent and one parent had to use either French or English. Adolescents with sensory or mental handicaps reported by parents were

Suicidal Ideation.

The 6-month prevalence of suicidal ideation reported by the adolescent was 7.2% (n = 59) with girls reporting two times more suicidal ideation than boys (10% versus 4.4%). The prevalence increased with age from 12 to 13 and 14 years by 5.4%, 11.3%, and 13.4%, respectively for girls, and from 0.7% to 5% and 8.1% for boys. Parents reported a prevalence of 5.5% (n = 45), 6.8% for girls and 4.2% for boys. The prevalence increased with age for girls (5.2%, 7.4%, and 7.6%) but not for boys (5.2%,

DISCUSSION

The underreporting of suicidal behavior by parents observed in Quebec and elsewhere suggests that the adolescent should be considered as the central source of information (Klimes-Dougan, 1998). The prevalence of 7.2% of suicidal ideation reported by the adolescents in this study was lower than the 3-year prevalence of 13.2% (Tousignant et al., 1988) and 15.4% (Côté et al., 1990) in Quebec middle and high schools using self-administered questionnaires. The result was similar, however, to

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    The Survey was funded by the Quebec Ministry of Health and Social Services and was conducted with the collaboration of l’Institut de la Statistique du Québec, direction Santé Québec.

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