CORRELATION OF SUICIDAL AND VIOLENT BEHAVIOR IN DIFFERENT DIAGNOSTIC CATEGORIES IN HOSPITALIZED ADOLESCENT PATIENTS

Objective: To determine the relative importance of aggression and depr ession in adolescent suicide within different diagnostic categories. M ethod: One hundred sixty-three consecutive admissions to an adolescent psychiatric inpatient unit were assessed using a semistructured diagn ostic instrument, the Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophren ia for School-Age Children. Scores for depression, suicidal behaviors, and violent behaviors were calculated from this assessment. Results: Anorexia nervosa and conduct disorder patients had the highest suicida l behavior scores. In addition, patients with conduct disorder were si gnificantly more violent than patients with major depressive disorder, and scores on the Violent Behavior Scale correlated with suicidal sym ptoms but not with depressive symptoms. Conclusion: Aggression may be as important in some kinds of suicidal behaviors as is depression. Thu s it seems that there are hypothetically at least two types of suicida l behaviors during adolescence: a wish to die (depression) and a wish not to be here for a time (impulse control). The first type of suicida l behavior characterizes that seen in disorders with prominent depress ion such as major depressive disorder and anorexia nervosa, and the se cond characterizes disorders of impulse control such as conduct disord er.