History of Child Maltreatment and Suicide Attempts Among Street Youth

published on August 14, 2015 by Katherine Bakes, MD, in Journal Watch

In a longitudinal cohort of street youth, 5% reported a suicide attempt; attempted suicide was most strongly associated with a history of physical abuse.

Mortality is very high among street youth, with suicide a leading cause of death. Understanding the elevated suicide risk in this population is important for developing prevention strategies. Using a longitudinal cohort of community-recruited street youth in Vancouver, Canada, investigators prospectively evaluated the risk for attempted suicide in relation to childhood maltreatment.

Eligibility requirements included age between 14 and 26, use of illicit drugs (other than marijuana) during the preceding month, and street involvement (i.e., homelessness or use of services for street-involved youth). At baseline, participants completed the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire to detect maltreatment in five categories: sexual abuse, physical abuse, emotional abuse, physical neglect, and emotional neglect. They also completed a questionnaire including the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression (CES-D) scale, with scores >21 indicating high levels of depressive symptoms.

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© Copyright BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS
St. Paul's Hospital 608–1081 Burrard Street, Vancouver, BC, Canada V6Z 1Y6
Tel: 604-806-8477 | Fax: 604-806-9044
General inquiries: info@bccfe.ca
Media inquiries: communications@bccfe.ca
(Please do not use any of these email addresses to send personal information or book an appointment. To book appointments or contact the H2H clinic, please call 604-416-1517 or fax: 604-564-4893. Do not send your or your client's personal information via email.)

Our work serves clients and communities across British Columbia on lands and waters cared for and nurtured by the many distinct First Nations across the province. The BC-CfE humbly and gratefully acknowledge the stewards of these lands, particularly the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and səl̓ílwətaʔ (Tsleil-Waututh) on whose unceded, traditional and ancestral territories our offices are located.