Ethnic groups differ in rates of suicidal behaviors among youths, the context within which suicidal behavior occurs (e.g., different precipitants, vulnerability and protective factors, and reactions to suicidal behaviors), and patterns of help-seeking. In this article, the authors discuss the cultural context of suicidal behavior among African American, American Indian and Alaska Native, Asian American and Pacific Islander, and Latino adolescents, and the implications of these contexts for suicide prevention and treatment. Several cross-cutting issues are discussed, including acculturative stress and protective factors within cultures; the roles of religion and spirituality and the family in culturally sensitive interventions; different manifestations and interpretations of distress in different cultures; and the impact of stigma and cultural distrust on help-seeking. The needs for culturally sensitive and community-based interventions are discussed, along with future opportunities for research in intervention development and evaluation.

The results converge with findings from other studies, suggesting elevated psychiatric morbidity in contemporary samples of young people with IDDM. The morbidity partly reflects the high incidence of major depression in adolescence and generalized anxiety disorder in young adulthood. Monitoring the psychological status of young patients and their mothers may help to identify diabetic children at risk for psychiatric disorder and facilitate prevention or treatment efforts. Monitoring may be particularly beneficial during the 1st year of the IDDM.

Severity of symptom-related impairment and total symptom load explained most of the risk for suicidality associated with current psychiatric disorders. Only depression plus GAD discriminated at-risk youth independent of severity of psychopathology.

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The purpose of this prospective, naturalistic study was to examine the relationships between suicide attempts and contemporaneous psychiatric disorders, and developmental changes in these relationships from adolescence to young adulthood. The sample consisted of 180 adolescents, 12-19 years of age at hospitalization, repeatedly assessed for up to 13 years (n = 1,825 assessments). Semistructured psychiatric diagnostic instruments were administered at repeated assessments to assess psychiatric disorders and suicide attempts. After controlling for demographic variables and prehospitalization suicide attempts, most contemporaneous psychiatric disorders (major depressive disorder [MDD], dysthymic disorder, generalized anxiety disorder [GAD], panic disorder, attentiondeficit/hyperactivity disorder [AD/HD], conduct disorder, and substance use disorder [SUD]) were related to increased risk of attempts. The relationship between suicide attempts and MDD, GAD, AD/HD, and SUD strengthened as participants got older. MDD, dysthymic disorder, GAD, and panic disorder were more commonly associated with repeat than 1st-time suicide attempts. In sum, most major psychiatric disorders are associated with increased risk for suicide attempts, but the strength of the relationships between these disorders and attempts changes over the course of development. NIH-PA Author ManuscriptNIH-PA Author Manuscript NIH-PA Author ManuscriptAccording to the National Strategy for Suicide Prevention, suicide attempts among adolescents and young adults occur at alarming rates, pose significant public health costs and burden, and are associated with increased likelihood for repeat suicide attempts and eventual death by suicide (U.S. Public Health Service, 2001). In efforts to better understand factors associated with increased risk for suicidal behavior, several community studies have examined the relationship between current psychiatric disorder and lifetime history of suicide attempts among adolescents (Andrews & Lewinsohn, 1992;Gould et al., 1998;Velez & Cohen, 1988). In studies focusing on lifetime histories of suicidal behavior, however, previous suicidal behavior may have occurred prior to the onset of the current psychiatric disorders (Foley, Goldston, Costello, & Angold, 2006). With cross-sectional studies of clinical samples, it has been possible to examine the relationships between psychiatric disorders and suicidal behavior occurring in the same window of time (e.g., Goldston et al., 1998). However, the period of time preceding hospitalization or entry into treatment is likely atypical, even for the highest risk young people.Longitudinal studies of psychiatric disorders and suicidal behavior may help clarify proximal associations because they offer the opportunity to examine relationships between suicidal behaviors and psychiatric disorders occurring in the same period of time, without the biases associated with one-time assessments in clinical settings. In the seminal community longitudinal study of Lewinsohn, Rohde, Seeley, and Ba...

The purpose of this study was to examine the severity of behavioral and emotional problems among adolescents with poor and typical single word reading ability (N = 188) recruited from public schools and followed for a median of 2.4 years. Youth and parents were repeatedly assessed to obtain information regarding the severity and course of symptoms (depression, anxiety, somatic complaints. aggression, delinquent behaviors, inattention), controlling for demographic variables and diagnosis or ADHD. After adjustment for demographic variables and ADHD, poor readers reported higher levels of depression, trait anxiety, and somatic complaints than typical readers, but there were no difference, in reported self-reported delinquent or aggressive behaviors. Parent reports indicated no difference, in depression, anxiety or aggression between the two groups but indicated more inattention, somatic complaints, and delinquent behaviors for the poor readers. School and health professionals should carefully assess youth with poor reading for behavioral and emotional symptoms and provide services when indicated.

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