Skip to main content
NCBI home page
American Journal of Public Health logoLink to American Journal of Public Health
. 1991 Jul;81(7):870–874. doi: 10.2105/ajph.81.7.870

Risk factors for suicide attempts among Navajo adolescents.

D C Grossman 1, B C Milligan 1, R A Deyo 1
PMCID: PMC1405190  PMID: 2053663

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Rates of adolescent suicide in the United States are highest among Native Americans but little is known about risk factors for suicide attempts in this population. METHODS: To identify risk factors for self-reported suicide attempts by Navajo adolescents, we analyzed the 1988 Indian Health Service Adolescent Health Survey that was administered to 7,254 students in grades 6 through 12 on the Navajo reservation. The responses of students reporting a past suicide attempt were compared to others. RESULTS: Nearly 15 percent (N = 971) reported a previous suicide attempt; over half of those admitted to more than one attempt. Controlling for age, a logistic regression model revealed the following associations with suicide attempts: a history of mental health problems (OR = 3.2); alienation from family and community (OR = 3.2); having a friend who attempted suicide (OR = 2.8); weekly consumption of hard liquor (OR = 2.7); a family history of a suicide or attempt (OR = 2.3); poor self-perception of health (OR = 2.2); a history of physical abuse (OR = 1.9); female gender (OR = 1.7); and sexual abuse (OR = 1.5). CONCLUSIONS: Efforts to prevent adolescent suicide attempts in this population should target individuals with those risk factors of the highest risk and prevalence of exposure.

Full text

PDF
870

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Berlin I. N. Prevention of adolescent suicide among some Native American tribes. Adolesc Psychiatry. 1985;12:77–93. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Blum R. W., Geer L., Hutton L., McKay C., Resnick M. D., Rosenwinkel K., Song Y. The Minnesota Adolescent Health Survey. Implications for physicians. Minn Med. 1988 Mar;71(3):143-5, 149. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Brent D. A., Perper J. A., Allman C. J. Alcohol, firearms, and suicide among youth. Temporal trends in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, 1960 to 1983. JAMA. 1987 Jun 26;257(24):3369–3372. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Brent D. A., Perper J. A., Goldstein C. E., Kolko D. J., Allan M. J., Allman C. J., Zelenak J. P. Risk factors for adolescent suicide. A comparison of adolescent suicide victims with suicidal inpatients. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 1988 Jun;45(6):581–588. doi: 10.1001/archpsyc.1988.01800300079011. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Davidson L. E., Rosenberg M. L., Mercy J. A., Franklin J., Simmons J. T. An epidemiologic study of risk factors in two teenage suicide clusters. JAMA. 1989 Nov 17;262(19):2687–2692. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Gould M. S. Teenage suicide clusters. JAMA. 1990 Apr 18;263(15):2051–2052. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Gould M. S., Wallenstein S., Kleinman M. Time-space clustering of teenage suicide. Am J Epidemiol. 1990 Jan;131(1):71–78. doi: 10.1093/oxfordjournals.aje.a115487. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Hlady W. G., Middaugh J. P. Suicides in Alaska: firearms and alcohol. Am J Public Health. 1988 Feb;78(2):179–180. doi: 10.2105/ajph.78.2.179. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Joffe R. T., Offord D. R., Boyle M. H. Ontario Child Health Study: suicidal behavior in youth age 12-16 years. Am J Psychiatry. 1988 Nov;145(11):1420–1423. doi: 10.1176/ajp.145.11.1420. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Kraus R. F., Buffler P. A. Sociocultural stress and the American native in Alaska: an analysis of changing patterns of psychiatric illness and alcohol abuse among Alaska natives. Cult Med Psychiatry. 1979 Jun;3(2):111–151. doi: 10.1007/BF00052965. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Levy J. E., Kunitz S. J. A suicide prevention program for Hopi youth. Soc Sci Med. 1987;25(8):931–940. doi: 10.1016/0277-9536(87)90264-4. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Manson S. M., Beals J., Dick R. W., Duclos C. Risk factors for suicide among Indian adolescents at a boarding school. Public Health Rep. 1989 Nov-Dec;104(6):609–614. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Monk M. Epidemiology of suicide. Epidemiol Rev. 1987;9:51–69. doi: 10.1093/oxfordjournals.epirev.a036308. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Riggs S., Alario A. J., McHorney C. Health risk behaviors and attempted suicide in adolescents who report prior maltreatment. J Pediatr. 1990 May;116(5):815–821. doi: 10.1016/s0022-3476(05)82679-4. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Rosenberg M. L., Smith J. C., Davidson L. E., Conn J. M. The emergence of youth suicide: an epidemiologic analysis and public health perspective. Annu Rev Public Health. 1987;8:417–440. doi: 10.1146/annurev.pu.08.050187.002221. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Rubinstein D. H. Epidemic suicide among Micronesian adolescents. Soc Sci Med. 1983;17(10):657–665. doi: 10.1016/0277-9536(83)90372-6. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Shaffer D., Garland A., Gould M., Fisher P., Trautman P. Preventing teenage suicide: a critical review. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 1988 Nov;27(6):675–687. doi: 10.1097/00004583-198811000-00001. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Shaffer D. The epidemiology of teen suicide: an examination of risk factors. J Clin Psychiatry. 1988 Sep;49 (Suppl):36–41. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. Slap G. B., Vorters D. F., Chaudhuri S., Centor R. M. Risk factors for attempted suicide during adolescence. Pediatrics. 1989 Nov;84(5):762–772. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from American Journal of Public Health are provided here courtesy of American Public Health Association

RESOURCES