Risk of suicide in young children

Anthony Pisani — Wed, 13 Jun 2007 02:05:26 +0000

There is a lot of material available about assessing for risk of suicide in adolescents, but much less that focuses on small children. Some cases are relatively (and I mean relatively) straightforward, like the child who says he is going to kill himself in anger when he doesn’t get his way. But I have seen a fair number of young children where it is more complicated. Some of them may express the suicidality in anger, but they also take actions like grabbing a kitchen knife or putting shoelace around their necks and pulling it.

Now, in all of the cases I have seen this action has been taken in full view of parents or other adults, which makes it somewhat less concerning (at least in terms of immediate risk for suicide), but nevertheless the child has taken an action which, if done at another time and in a slightly different way could be dangerous.

Our frameworks for assessing risk in adults fall short in these cases. I know I feel on less steady ground. If anyone knows of good resources–ones that not only provide risk factors, but ways of conceptualizing suicidal behavior in young children, I’d love to hear from you.

“Truth about self-harm” from MHF in UK

Anthony Pisani — Tue, 20 Mar 2007 23:54:11 +0000

Thanks to a recent link from Psychsplash to the Mental Health Foundation in the U.K., I discovered a helpful publication called “The truth about self-harm.” Here is a description from the website:

The booklet is for anyone who wants to understand self-harm among young people – why it happens, how to deal with it, and how to recover from what can be become a very destructive cycle.

It written for self-injurious youth, their friends, and families, and is available as a downloadable .pdf. This publication is psychoeducational that grew out of an “inquiry” aimed at gathering available evidence to understand self-harm. The final report from the inquiry is also available.

Commitment to Living » self-harm

Risk of suicide in young children

“Truth about self-harm” from MHF in UK