Study: Most Suicidal Teens May Have Received Some Mental Health Treatment.

The New York Times (1/9, A11, Carey, Subscription Publication) reports, “Most adolescents who plan or attempt suicide have already received at least some mental health treatment, raising questions about the effectiveness of current approaches to helping troubled youths, according to the largest in-depth analysis to date of suicidal behaviors in American teenagers.” In the study, published in JAMA Psychiatry, researchers “found that 55 percent of suicidal teenagers had received some therapy before they thought about suicide, planned it or tried to kill themselves, contradicting the widely held belief that suicide is due in part to a lack of access to treatment.” The study’s findings were “based on interviews with a nationwide sample of more than 6,000 teenagers and at least one parent of each.”

Bloomberg News (1/9, Lopatto) reports, “Of all the mental disorders, only major depression and dysthymia, a type of chronic depression, predicted a suicide plan. Those two illnesses, as well as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, conduct disorder, eating disorders and intermittent explosive disorder also suggested a higher risk of suicide attempts,” the study found.

Related Links:

— “Study Questions Effectiveness of Therapy for Suicidal Teenagers, “Benedict Carey, Teh New York Times, January 8, 2013.

Posted in In The News.