Personality characteristics of adolescent suicide attempters

Objective: The purpose of this study was to explore both the personality ch aracteristics and the symptoms of personality disorder of adolescent suicid e attempters, as well as the relationship between personality variables and hopelessness in this population. Method: Two sample populations were used in this study. First, 102 adolescent suicide attempters between 13 and 18 y ears of age completed the Millon Adolescent Personality Inventory (MAPI) an d the Hopelessness Scale for Children (HSC). A second group of 35 adolescen t suicide attempters were administered the HSC and the revised Diagnostic I nterview for Borderlines (DIB). Results: No distinctive personality charact eristics or symptoms of personality disorders were found. However, affectiv e distress seemed to be the most prominent feature in the presentation of t hese adolescents. Additionally, high scores on the HSC were associated with elevated scores on the Personality Style scales of the MAPI and higher (mo re dysfunctional) scores on Affect Regulation on the DIB. Conclusions: The results suggest that clinicians should focus most on the personality charac teristic of sensitivity and on affect regulation when assessing adolescent suicide attempters. In addition, hopelessness is important to systematicall y assess because it appears to be related to a variety of dysfunctional per sonality characteristics that may affect follow-up outcome.