ADOLESCENT WITNESSES TO A PEER SUICIDE

Objective: This case-control study attempts to evaluate the psychologi cal impact of witnessing a suicide on high school students. Method: Tw enty-eight high school students witnessed a firearms suicide and the s erious injury of another student while riding a school bus. They were assessed 2 months after the event, and their responses were compared w ith 28 demographically similar adolescents from another community who had not been exposed to suicide. Results: The exposed students, when c ompared with the controls, had higher rates of new-onset anxiety disor der and a trend for increased rates of new-onset post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Within the exposed group, measures of the closeness of the relationship to both the suicide victim and the student who was injured were correlated with the severity of PTSD symptomatology. Wit hin the exposed group, other factors that predisposed to new-onset dis order included family history of affective illness, family history of suicide attempt, and stressful life events occurring in the year befor e exposure. Conclusions: In combination with the extant literature, th is study demonstrates that adolescents who witness a traumatic suicida l death are at fisk for the development of psychopathology, specifical ly, anxiety disorders and PTSD.