PSYCHIATRIC-ILLNESS IN A NEW-ZEALAND SAMPLE OF YOUNG-PEOPLE MAKING SERIOUS SUICIDE ATTEMPTS

Aim. To examine the extent of psychiatric illness amongst young people making medically serious suicide attempts and control subjects. Metho d. Using a case control design, 129 young people making serious suicid e attempts were contrasted with 153 randomly selected community contro ls on a series of measures of current and lifetime DSM-III-R diagnoses of mental disorders. Results. Individuals making suicide attempts wer e characterised by high rates of current mental disorder (89.5%), curr ent comorbidity (54.3%), lifetime histories of psychiatric disorder (9 0.7%) and previous suicide attempts (52.7%). At the time of the suicid e attempt, those making serious attempts had elevated rates of the fol lowing disorders: affective disorders (70.5%), substance use disorders (38.8%), anxiety disorders (14.7%), Elating disorders (8.5%) and anti social disorders (34.9%). Conclusions. Young people who made medically serious suicide attempts had high rates of a range of mental disorder s, and of comorbid disorders, at the time of the suicide attempt. They had high rates of lifetime histories of mental disorders and previous suicide attempts. The implications of these findings for the developm ent of strategies to manage, treat and prevent suicidal behaviours in young people are discussed.