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Suicidal adolescents: Lessons to be learned from early intervention
Author(s) -
ALVIN P.
Publication year - 1993
Publication title -
journal of paediatrics and child health
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.631
H-Index - 76
eISSN - 1440-1754
pISSN - 1034-4810
DOI - 10.1111/j.1440-1754.1993.tb02255.x
Subject(s) - medicine , intervention (counseling) , multidisciplinary approach , suicide prevention , psychiatry , injury prevention , poison control , occupational safety and health , human factors and ergonomics , medical emergency , social science , pathology , sociology
In France as in most developed countries, suicide is the second leading cause of adolescent deaths. Suicide attempts are estimated to be at least 30 times more common than completed suicides. Adolescent suicidal behaviours are a most sensitive subject. Fear, defensive attitudes, and lack of consensus as to management are detrimental to a good understanding of and an appropriate approach to the problems involved. Our adolescent medicine experience with several hundred adolescent victims of suicide attempt shows that most come from troubled or abusive environments, most did not clearly intend to die and are asking for some help. Only a minority appear to be mentally ill and need inpatient psychiatric care. These patients are best approached when hospitalized like any other adolescent and offered a thorough health screening, within an integrated and multidisciplinary framework which allows working with both the patient and his family.