Evaluation of Sociodemographic Characteristics and Depression Diagnosis of Adolescents who Had Suicide Attempt

Objective: Suicide attempts of adolescents have become one of the most common reasons among the admission to emergency departments for psychiatric reasons. The aim of this study is to identify sociodemographic and clinical characteristics, the diagnosis of depressive disorder and to assess the risk factors of adolescents who attempted suiside. Method: For this study, the patients that were admitted to Ankara Research and Training Hospital Emergency Department and were referred to Child and Adolescent Psychiatry outpatient clinic due to suicide attempt between April 2018 and December 2018 were included. “Child Depression Inventory”, “Beck Depression Inventory “ and “Sociodemographic Data Form” were used for the study. It was also evaluated whether the patients were diagnosed with “Major Depressive Disorder” according to DSM-5 as a result of psychiatric examination. SPSS 24.0 was used in the analyzes. T-test, Kruskal-Wallis test, Chi-square and Fisher’s exact test were used where appropriate. Results: Out of 38 patients who attempted suicide, 92,1% (n=35) were female. It was found that 92.1% (n=35) of the cases attempted suicide by overdose drug intake. Approximately half of the cases (44.7% n=17) reported the reason for suicide as “familial stressors”. As a result of the psychiatric evaluation, 42.1% (n=16) of the cases were diagnosed with “Major Depressive Disorder” according to DSM-5. Conclusion: Comprehensive evaluation of individual and environmental factors in adolescents who attempted suicide is considered important to identify the risk factors. Moreover strengthening the professional psychosocial support systems about increasing coping skills, gaining problem-solving skills of adolescents and informing families about approach to adolescents are thought that may contribute to protective measures.