Table 2.
Demographic, social, clinical risk factors and circumstances of death amongst index and exposed cases.
| Variable | Total (N = 117) | Index Cases (N = 55) | Exposed Cases (N = 62) | X2 P value | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| N (%) | N (%) | N (%) | |||||
| Demographic characteristics | |||||||
| Sex | 77 | (65.81) | 37 | (67.27) | 40 | (64.52) | 0.905 |
| Aged 18 years or less | 57 | (48.72) | 24 | (43.64) | 33 | (53.23) | 0.395 |
| Aboriginal or Torres Strait Island origins | 27 | (23.08) | 13 | (23.64) | 14 | (22.58) | 1 |
| Employed | 37 | (31.62) | 18 | (32.73) | 19 | (30.65) | 0.966 |
| Student | 38 | (32.48) | 17 | (30.91) | 21 | (33.9) | 0.885 |
| Socioeconomic advantage and disadvantage (SEIFA)1 | 40 | (34.19) | 20 | (36.36) | 20 | (32.26) | 0.785 |
| Residing in a remote location | 15 | (12.82) | 7 | (12.73) | 8 | (12.90) | 1 |
| Parent separation | 39 | (33.33) | 12 | (21.82) | 27 | (43.55) | 0.022 |
| Living alone at time of death | <10 | (<8.5) | <5 | (<9.1) | <5 | (<8.1) | 1 |
| Social characteristics | |||||||
| Relationship breakdown (past month) | 23 | (19.66) | 11 | (20.0) | 12 | (19.35) | 1 |
| Peer conflict (past year) | <10 | (<8.5) | <5 | (<9.1) | 6 | (9.68) | 0.279 |
| Family conflict | 24 | (20.51) | 11 | (20.0) | 13 | (20.97) | 1 |
| Binge drinking (past month) | 23 | (19.66) | 14 | (25.45) | 9 | (14.52) | 0.21 |
| History of abuse or neglect | <10 | (<8.5) | <5 | (<9.1) | 12 | (19.35) | 0.02 |
| Exposure to Domestic violence | <10 | (<8.5) | <5 | (<9.1) | 5 | (8.1) | 0.06 |
| Clinical characteristics | |||||||
| Diagnosed or undiagnosed mental illness | 62 | (53.0) | 35 | (63.64) | 27 | (43.55) | 0.541 |
| Self-harm (past year) | <10 | (<8.5) | <5 | (<9.1) | <5 | (<8.1) | 0.871 |
| Discharged from the ED2 | 10 | (8.55) | 5 | (9.1) | 5 | (8.1) | 1 |
| Illicit substances | 35 | (29.91) | 20 | (36.36) | 15 | (24.19) | 0.218 |
| Alcohol impairment | 14 | (12.0) | 8 | (14.55) | 6 | (9.68) | 0.6 |
| Circumstances of death | |||||||
| Suicide note available | 33 | (28.21) | 15 | (27.27) | 18 | (29.03) | 0.413 |
| Told someone they wanted to die | 49 | (41.90) | 19 | (34.55) | 30 | (48.39) | 0.184 |
| Communicated on social media | <10 | (<8.5) | <5 | (<9.1) | 5 | (8.1) | 0.265 |
| Internet search for methods | <10 | (<8.5) | <5 | (<9.1) | <5 | (<8.1) | 1 |
1
Socioeconomic Index for Advantage and Disadvantage bottom 20th percentile for relative disadvantage based on SA2 for place of residence
2
ED= Emergency department
Counts less than N = 5 were aggregated to preserve anonymity.