Psychopathological Differences Between Self-Injurious Behaviors and Suicide Attempts in Adolescents

Objective: Suicidal attempts and self-injurious behavior are major public health concerns, and they are strong predictors of death in youths worldwide. Given the risk of death, there is an urgent need to understand the differences and identify effective interventions. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between the predictors associated with non-suicidal self-injury and suicide attempts among adolescents.

Materials and Methods: The study recruited a total of 61 adolescents aged 12-18 years, with suicide attempts (n=32) and non-suicidal self-injury (n=29). Turgay Disruptive Behavioral Disorders Screening and Rating Scale-Parent form, Rosenberg Self-esteem Scale, and Beck Anxiety and Beck Depression Inventory assessment scales were applied. All participants were interviewed with the structured clinical interview for Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fourth edition.

Results: The adolescents with the suicide attempts were found to have lower self-esteem, higher depression, inattention and hyperactivity-impulsivity scores than the group with non-suicidal self-injury. Higher inattention scores and rural residency were positively and significantly associated with suicide attempts, adjusting for other discrimination types (odds ratio=1.250, 95% CI=1.024-1.526; odds ratio=4.656, 95% CI=1.157-18.735).

Conclusion: This study shows that some clinical psychiatric factors may be helpful in distinguishing adolescents with suicide attempts from adolescents with non-suicidal self-injury. Future research is needed to determine the predictive role of these variables in distinguishing suicidal attempts from self-injurious behavior.

Cite this article as: Doğru H. Psychopathological differences between self-injurious behaviors and suicide attempts in adolescents. Eurasian J Med 2023;55(1):37-42.