NCJ Number
224054
Journal
Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Volume: 47 Issue: 8 Dated: August 2008 Pages: 948-957
Date Published
August 2008
Length
10 pages
Annotation
In an attempt to add to the limited research on treatment compliance in adolescence after attempted suicide, this study provides a detailed description of treatment utilization and subsequent treatment compliance in a sample of hospitalized adolescents who made a recent suicide attempt, a systematic examination of whether several factors are predictive of poorer treatment compliance, and an exploration of the degree to which treatment compliance was predictive of future suicidal symptoms.
Abstract
The findings indicate that in the aftermath of a suicide attempt, adolescents are typically engaged in a variety of psychological services, particularly both psychosocial and pharmacotherapy treatments. Parents’ perception of the helpfulness of treatment was predictive of increased compliance, whereas increased child psychopathology predicted noncompliance, with disruptive disorders predicting psychotherapy noncompliance and affective/anxiety disorders predicting pharmacotherapy noncompliance, at a 6-month followup. The problem of recurrent adolescent attempted suicide is a major one which has received increased attention. Compliance with mental health treatments among adolescents is recognized to be poor, and adolescents who attempt suicide comprise a difficult group to engage in even initial treatment follow-through after hospitalization. The purpose of this study was to describe mental health services utilization for adolescents after attempted suicide, explore factors related to treatment compliance, and determine the relation between compliance and suicidality. The study sample consisted of 85 adolescents’ ages 13 to 18 that had attempted suicide and their families and recruited from 4 psychiatric hospitals. Tables, figures and references