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Sex Differences in Suicidal Behaviour of Referred Adolescents

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

Joseph M. Rey  and
Kevin D. Bird
Joseph M. Rey*
Affiliation:
Rivendell Child Adolescent and Family Psychiatric Services, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital
Kevin D. Bird
Affiliation:
School of Psychology, University of New South Wales
*
∗Hospital Road, Concord West, NSW 2138, Australia
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Abstract

Reports of suicidal behaviour from four countries using the same measures were higher for girls than for boys, and higher in self-reports than in parent reports for both referred and normal adolescents. In a sample of 480 referred adolescents, patterns of ‘low’ and ‘high’ suicidal scores were different when age, sex and diagnosis were considered. The probability of high scores for girls showed only a marginal increase with age, while there was a striking rise for boys. An affective diagnosis doubled the probability of high scores for both boys and girls, while it had no effect on low scores. Psychosocial stressors also increased the probability of high suicidal scores, particularly in adolescents with an affective disorder. Sex differences in suicidal behaviour were marked in the low-scoring groups.

Type
Papers
Information
The British Journal of Psychiatry , Volume 158 , Issue 6 , June 1991 , pp. 776 - 781
Copyright
Copyright © The Royal College of Psychiatrists 

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