Social and life skills in adolescents who have self-harmed: analysis of survey responses from a national sample of adolescents in Norway.

OBJECTIVE: Social and life skills (SLS) may be important in the prevention and treatment of self-harm, but few studies have described this relationship. We examined three components of SLS in adolescents who reported self-harm that was, according to themselves, diagnosed by a clinician. DESIGN: Cross-sectional. SETTING: National screening prior to military service. PARTICIPANTS: 176 284 residents of Norway born in 1999-2001 received a declaration of health. We included 171 486 individuals (84 153 (49%) women and 87 333 (51%) men) who were 17 (n=1 67 855) or 18 years of age (n=3631) when they completed the declaration. OUTCOME MEASURE: The main outcome was clinically diagnosed self-harm, defined as self-harm that the adolescents themselves stated had been diagnosed by a clinician. Components of SLS were social interactions; coping strategies; and emotional regulation/aggression. The association between SLS and self-reported clinically diagnosed self-harm was assessed in hierarchical multiple regression models controlling for sex; school absence; and feelings of emotional pain. RESULTS: Three percent (n=5507) of the adolescents reported clinically diagnosed self-harm. The three components of SLS together added little to the prediction of clinically diagnosed self-harm (∆R2=0.02). After controlling for school absence and emotional pain, emotional regulation/aggression was the only SLS-component that was independently associated with clinically diagnosed self-harm (OR 1.33, 95% CI 1.31 to 1.36). The young men who said they had been clinically diagnosed for self-harm scored slightly worse on social interactions (Hedge's g (g) = -0.13, p<0.001) and emotional regulation/aggression (g = -0.18, p<0.001) than the young women in this group. CONCLUSION: Young women and young men who reported clinically diagnosed self-harm had more problems with emotional regulation/aggression than other adolescents, but did not have worse social interactions or coping strategies.

Dialectical Behavior Therapy Compared With Enhanced Usual Care for Adolescents With Repeated Suicidal and Self-Harming Behavior: Outcomes Over a One-Year Follow-Up.

OBJECTIVE: We conducted a 1-year prospective follow-up study of posttreatment clinical outcomes in adolescents with recent and repetitive self-harm who had been randomly allocated to receive 19 weeks of either dialectical behavior therapy adapted for adolescents (DBT-A) or enhanced usual care (EUC) at community child and adolescent psychiatric outpatient clinics. METHOD: Assessments of self-harm, suicidal ideation, depression, hopelessness, borderline symptoms, and global level of functioning were made at the end of the 19-week treatment period and at follow-up 1 year later. Altogether 75 of the 77 (97%) adolescents participated at both time points. Frequencies of hospitalizations, emergency department visits and other use of mental health care during the 1-year follow-up period were recorded. Change analyses were performed using mixed effects linear spline regression and mixed effect Poisson regression with robust variance. RESULTS: Over the 52-week follow-up period, DBT-A remained superior to EUC in reducing the frequency of self-harm. For other outcomes such as suicidal ideation, hopelessness, and depressive or borderline symptoms and for the global level of functioning, inter-group differences apparent at the 19-week assessment were no longer observed, mainly due to participants in the EUC group having significantly improved on these dimensions over the follow-up year, whereas DBT-A participants remained unchanged. CONCLUSION: A stronger long-term reduction in self-harm and a more rapid recovery in suicidal ideation, depression, and borderline symptoms suggest that DBT-A may be a favorable treatment alternative for adolescents with repetitive self-harming behavior. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION INFORMATION: Treatment for Adolescents With Deliberate Self Harm; http://clinicaltrials.gov/; NCT00675129.

Depressed suicide attempters with posttraumatic stress disorder.

Posttraumatic stress disorder and major depressive disorder are well-established risk factors for suicidal behavior. This study compared depressed suicide attempters with and without comorbid posttraumatic stress disorder with respect to additional diagnoses, global functioning, depressive symptoms, substance abuse, history of traumatic exposure, and suicidal behavior. Adult patients consecutively admitted to a general hospital after a suicide attempt were interviewed and assessed for DSM-IV diagnosis and clinical correlates. Sixty-four patients (71%) were diagnosed with depression; of them, 21 patients (32%) had posttraumatic stress disorder. There were no group differences in social adjustment, depressive symptoms, or suicidal intent. However, the group with comorbid depression and posttraumatic stress disorder had more additional Axis I diagnoses, a higher degree of childhood trauma exposure, and more often reported previous suicide attempts, non-suicidal self-harm, and vengeful suicidal motives. These findings underline the clinical importance of diagnosis and treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder in suicide attempters.

Dialectical behavior therapy for adolescents with repeated suicidal and self-harming behavior: a randomized trial.

OBJECTIVE: We examined whether a shortened form of dialectical behavior therapy, dialectical behavior therapy for adolescents (DBT-A) is more effective than enhanced usual care (EUC) to reduce self-harm in adolescents. METHOD: This was a randomized study of 77 adolescents with recent and repetitive self-harm treated at community child and adolescent psychiatric outpatient clinics who were randomly allocated to either DBT-A or EUC. Assessments of self-harm, suicidal ideation, depression, hopelessness, and symptoms of borderline personality disorder were made at baseline and after 9, 15, and 19 weeks (end of trial period), and frequency of hospitalizations and emergency department visits over the trial period were recorded. RESULTS: Treatment retention was generally good in both treatment conditions, and the use of emergency services was low. DBT-A was superior to EUC in reducing self-harm, suicidal ideation, and depressive symptoms. Effect sizes were large for treatment outcomes in patients who received DBT-A, whereas effect sizes were small for outcomes in patients receiving EUC. Total number of treatment contacts was found to be a partial mediator of the association between treatment and changes in the severity of suicidal ideation, whereas no mediation effects were found on the other outcomes or for total treatment time. CONCLUSION: DBT-A may be an effective intervention to reduce self-harm, suicidal ideation, and depression in adolescents with repetitive self-harming behavior. Clinical trial registration information-Treatment for Adolescents With Deliberate Self Harm; http://ClinicalTrials.gov/; NCT00675129.

Continuity of care in the treatment of suicide attempters--current challenges.

Suicide attempters presenting for hospital treatment is a major public health challenge in most countries. Their tendency of dropping out of treatments and their high risk of repeat suicidal behavior call for systematic assessments, in-hospital management, treatment engagement and follow-up treatments after discharge from hospital. However, hospital services provided for suicide attempters and follow-up care may have highly variable quality and favorable care programs may deteriorate over time for various reasons. Effective and sustainable treatments and interventions to create cohesive chains of care are needed to release the substantial suicide prevention potential that exist in this population.

[Suicidal adolescents--what should clinicians look for?]. / Suicidal ungdom--hva skal klinikere se etter?

BACKGROUND: Over the past decades, suicidal behaviour has increased among adolescents. We wanted to explore what characterises adolescents who come in to see a general practitioner prior to a suicide attempt. MATERIAL AND METHOD: 87 % of a group of adolescents below the age of 20 (N = 92) who were admitted to hospital after attempted suicide were interviewed and compared to a non-suicidal control group. RESULTS: 41 out of the 92 saw a doctor within six weeks prior to the attempt; 27 presented with purely physical problems, 6 with psychological problems and eight with a combination of both. Only 2 brought up suicidal thoughts with their doctors. Those who saw a doctor prior to the suicide attempt were older and more frequently had eating disorders than those who did not. No other significant differences were found. Compared to the control group, suicidal adolescents who came in to see a general practitioner more often reported divorced parents, fewer siblings, little support from family and peers, having sex at an early age, frequent use of tobacco and illegal drugs, low self-esteem, loneliness and depressive symptoms (p < 0.01). INTERPRETATION: Adolescents who saw a doctor prior to a suicide attempt differed significantly from the non-suicidal controls. General practitioners need to have extensive knowledge about risk factors in order to recognise suicidal adolescents. Active inquiry about psychosocial problems, psychopathology and suicidal ideation is necessary.