Alcohol-related problems among adolescent suicides in Finland

We studied 106 adolescent suicides out of a total nationwide population of 1397 suicides. Forty-four (42%) Of these 13-22-year-old victims were classi fied as having suffered either a DSM-III-R alcohol use disorder or diagnost ically subthreshold alcohol misuse according to retrospective evaluation us ing the Michigan Alcoholism Screening Test (MAST). These victims were found to differ from the other adolescent suicides in several characteristics: t hey were more likely to have comorbid categorical DSM-III-R disorders, anti social behaviour, disturbed family backgrounds, precipitating life-events a s stressors and severe psychosocial impairment. In addition, they also had a greater tendency to be alcohol-intoxicated at the time of the suicidal ac t, which tended to occur during weekends, suggesting that drinking in itsel f, and its weekly pattern, each contributed to the completion of their suic ides.