The Impact of Referral to Mental Health Services on Suicide Death Risk in Adolescent Suicide Survivors

ABSTRACT

Objectives@#This study aims to examine the effect of adolescent suicide survivors’ experience on suicide death risk, and the effect of referral to mental health services (hereafter referral) in this regard. @*Methods@#This study used the data of 878 suicide-deceased and suicide-attempted adolescents aged 8–19 years, managed by the Suicide and School Mental Health Institute from 2016 to 2018. @*Results@#Regression analysis for main effects showed that although suicide experience had no direct effect on suicide death, non-referral status was associated with a greater risk of death by suicide. While the “non-suicide survivor with non-referral” and “suicide survivor with non-referral” groups showed 1.87 [adjusted odds ratio=1.87, 95% confidence interval (CI)=1.21–2.89] and 4.59 (adjusted odds ratio= 4.59, 95% CI=2.02–10.42) times higher odds of suicide death, respectively, the “suicide survivor with referral” group showed no difference compared to the “non-suicide survivor with referral” group. @*Conclusion@#From these findings, there is a need to strengthen referral to mental health services and apply complicated grief treatment to improve the mental health of adolescent suicide survivors.