Characteristics and Outcomes among Children Reporting Suicide Ideation

Death from suicide among children less than 11 years of age is extremely rare. Among the more than 33,000 Americans who died from suicide in 2006, only 6 were aged 10 years or younger. Data for this study were obtained from the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being (NSCAW). NSCAW is a nationally-representative longitudinal study of more than 5,500 children aged 7 – 15 years who entered the Child Protective Services (CPS) system between 1999 -2000. Data were collected from children and their families at five time points over five years. Analyses included 1,181 children aged 7 – 10 years at the time of enrollment. Among those aged 7-10 years, 30.4% (95%CI: 25.2-35.7) reported thinking about suicide in the past two weeks, 9.9% (95%CI: 6.3-13.1) screened positive for depression, and 16.3% (95%CI: 11.1-23.4) screened positive for clinically significant trauma. Regression analyses did not identify any statistically significant differences in suicide ideation associated with age, gender, race/ethnicity, or out of home placement. Statistically significant associations were identified for depression and trauma. Among those aged 7 – 10 years at baseline, 20.8% (95%CI: 15.6-25.9) reported suicide ideation during the 36 month follow-up interview. Results from analyses of predictors of suicide ideation are presented for each wave of data and predictors of suicide ideation among children and older adolescents are compared. Results from this study will contribute to understanding of the characteristics and outcomes among children who report thinking about suicide.