AUTHOR=Wong John Chee Meng , Chang Christel Lynne , Shen Liang , Nyein Nyein , Loh Adrian Seng Wei , Yap Natalie Huijing , Kroneman Leoniek Mirjam , Feng Lei , Tan Chay Hoon TITLE=Temperament, parenting, mental disorders, life stressors and help-seeking behavior of Asian adolescent suicide attempters: A case control study JOURNAL=Frontiers in Psychiatry VOLUME=13 YEAR=2022 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychiatry/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2022.999089 DOI=10.3389/fpsyt.2022.999089 ISSN=1664-0640 ABSTRACT=Purpose

The need to elucidate risk factors for adolescent suicide is urgent, as suicide consistently ranks among the top causes of death globally. Understanding suicide risk factors could inform more effective interventions. Previous studies have identified certain risk factors associated with suicide, but there is a paucity of research among adolescent and multi-ethnic Asian populations.

Materials and methods

This case-control study sampled 13-to-19-year-old Asian adolescents who had attempted suicide (N = 60) and controls (N = 58) matched by age, ethnicity and gender at group-level (73.7% female). Life stressors, temperament, parenting style, mental health conditions and help-seeking behavior were examined.

Results

All domains of life stress apart from emerging adult responsibility were higher among cases than controls, especially home life, peer pressure and romantic relationships. Suicide attempters tended to avoid new situations, be less adaptable to changes, have a negative outlook and irregular sleep-wake cycle. Additionally, they perceived their parents to be significantly more aggressive, neglecting, rejecting and cold, while parents’ perceptions of their own parenting were only significantly different in the domain of parental neglect. Cases were more likely to exhibit disorders of disruptive behavior, eating, mood, anxiety, symptoms of schizophrenia and experience of disturbing events. Significant differences were also found for 10 out of 12 Axis II disorders, particularly borderline, depressive, and avoidant personality disorder traits. No significant case-control differences were found regarding overall rates of help-seeking.

Conclusion

Findings from this study may help in suicide prevention efforts through more tailored interventions.