The familial aggregation of adolescent suicide attempts

Abstract

The objective of this study was to determine whether the familial aggregation of suicidal behaviour is explained by the familial aggregation of personality disorder and aggression. The relatives of 62 clinically referred adolescent suicide attempters were compared with 70 never-suicidal psychiatric controls. The first-degree relatives of the suicide attempters had a higher rate of suicide attempts/completion than those of the psychiatric controls. This rate remained significantly higher after controlling for Axis I and II differences in the probands and the relatives, but familial personality disorder was significantly associated with suicidal risk in probands. Among the adolescent attempters, high scores on a measure of assaultiveness were associated with significantly higher familial rates of suicide attempts/completion. Our results support the hypothesis that suicidal behaviour may be transmitted as a trait independent of Axis I and II psychopathology but that, in addition, personality disorder has a role in the transmission of suicidal behaviour. An interrelationship between proband assaultiveness and the familial aggregation of suicidality was noted.

Familial Transmission of Suicidal Behavior

“…These studies also support a definition of the clinical phenotype that includes suicidal behavior, but does not include suicidal ideation, insofar as Pfeffer and colleagues found that a family history of attempts was increased only in the relatives of proband attempters but not in the relatives of proband ideators (21). A relationship between familial transmission of suicidal behavior and of impulsive aggression was also supported, since a higher rate of assaultive behavior was reported in the relatives of proband suicide attempters (21), and conversely, a higher rate of suicidal behavior in relatives was reported in the relatives of those proband attempters with higher levels of impulsive aggression (26).…”

Suicide Attempts in an Adolescent Female Twin Sample

“…Finally and importantly, unelucidated familial influences appear to contribute to youth suicidal behavior. There have been many reports of familial aggregation of suicidal behavior in adults (e.g., Egeland and Sussex, 1985) and a few family studies of youth suicidal behavior as well (Brent et al, 1996a;Bridge et al, 1997;Gould et al, 1996;Johnson et al, 1998), which all found familial factors even when controlling for psychiatric disorders.…”

“…Finally and importantly, unelucidated familial influences appear to contribute to youth suicidal behavior. There have been many reports of familial aggregation of suicidal behavior in adults (e.g., Egeland and Sussex, 1985) and a few family studies of youth suicidal behavior as well (Brent et al, 1996a;Bridge et al, 1997;Gould et al, 1996;Johnson et al, 1998), which all found familial factors even when controlling for psychiatric disorders.Contagion effects have been cited as factors in suicidal behaviors (e.g., Maris, 1997). Although contagion appears to potentially precipitate suicidal behaviors in youth peer groups (Lewinsohn et al, 1994), it has not been found to play a major role in the familial aggregation of suicidal behaviors in either family, adoption, or twin studies (Brent et al, 1996b;Schulsinger et al, 1979; Statham et al, 1998).…”

O suicídio e sua relação com o comportamento impulsivo-agressivo

“…Estes têm consistentemente indicado que os fatores genéticos conferem uma maior predisposição ao comportamento suicida. Estudos familiares têm apontado para a presença de agregação familiar do comportamento suicida [23][24][25][26][27] (veja tabela 1). Alguns desses estudos conseguiram demonstrar que a transmissão do comportamento suicida é independente da segregação familiar de morbidade psiquiátrica.…”