SUICIDAL IDEATION AND ASSOCIATED CHARACTERISTICS IN ADOLESCENT WOMEN

Objective. To determine the prevalence of suicidal ideation and the sy mptomatic profile as well as to identify the sociodemographic characte ristics highlighting female adolescents with the highest scores on sui cidal ideation in adolescents living in Mexico City: students and suic idal patients. Material and methods. A cross-sectional and ex-post-fac to study was carried out in order to analize information from two samp les: 1 712 junior and junior high school women students (representativ e student sample in Mexico City), and 30 adolescents inpatient hospita lized for her suicide attempts (clinical sample). Results, Prevalence of presence as well as persistance of suicidal ideation were higher in the clinical sample, nevertheless 1 1.8% of the schoolar sample had e veryone of the symptoms in arange of I to 7 days. The most persistent of the ideation symptoms was: ''My family would be better if I were de ad''; and in the clinical sample it was ''I thought about killing myse lf''. Finally, the sociodemographic characteristics that best match ed the student girls having the highest scores in suicidal ideation were : to be on junior high school, to get low grades, to acknowledge schoo l performance as bad and to have interrupted her studies. The characte ristics that highlight the girls with a first attempt were analized in the clinic sample in comparisson with those ones with two or more att empts. It was significant that girls in the second group were living o nly with one parent and they thought in the last attempt that their de ad would be possible or certain. Conclusions. The prevalence of suicid al ideation was important in the school sample. If it is considered th at this psychological construct has a strong association with suicidal attempt, and multiple suicide conduct, then is a priority to detect a dolescents in risk and to make preventive efforts, considering the soc iodemographic characteristics that configurate in risk for suicidal id eation.