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The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA |
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The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA |
Stacey Freedenthal, Washington University, One Brookings Drive, St. Louis, MO 63130, (301) 443-3706, pfischer@samhsa.gov
The suicide rate among American Indian adolescents is more than double that of adolescents in the general population. Social problems such as alcoholism and poverty plague Indian reservations. The purpose of this study is to (1) document rates of suicidal ideation and attempts among reservation youth in comparison to their urban counterparts, and (2) explore whether factors predicting suicidal behavior differ between reservation and urban youth. About 200 adolescents living on a reservation and 200 living in an urban area were surveyed using the DIS and SACA. Significantly more reservation youth (33 percent) than urban adolescents (24 percent) reported a history of suicidal ideation (X2=3.96, p=.05), although similar proportions of urban and reservation youth (17 and 19.5 percent) indicated they had ever attempted suicide (X2=.48, NS). For urban youth, predictors of suicide attempts were a history of sexual abuse and a friend or family member having attempted or completed suicide. Past or current depression, having no father in the home, cigarette smoking, and family history of drug abuse were significantly related to suicide attempts among reservation youth. These findings indicate that substantially different factors trigger suicidal behavior in reservation youth than in urban youth.
Learning Objectives:
Awards: The Kenneth Lutterman Award for Exemplary Student Papers in Mental Health - Honorable Mention
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.