COLUMBUS – A new study by a researcher at Nationwide Children’s Hospital shows parents, teachers and doctors should be made aware of the warning signs of suicide in young children and to talk to them about it.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ranked suicide as the 10th leading cause of death for children ages five to 11 in 2014 , the first time it had shown up in the CDC’s top ten leading causes of death for children in that age group.
A study by a researcher in the hospital’s Center for Suicide Prevention and Research, the first to exclusively focus on circumstances of suicide in children from age five to 14, says that 29 percent of them disclosed their intention to commit suicide to someone prior to their death, highlighting the importance of educating parents, doctors and others to recognize the warning signs and speak to the child about their concerns, said Dr. Arielle Sheftall, a postdoctoral research fellow and one of the study’s authors.
“Although suicide is extremely rare in elementary school-aged children, parents should be aware that children can and sometimes do think about suicide,” Jeff Bridge, PhD , director of the center and a co-author of the study. “It is important to ask children directly about suicide if there is a safety concern. Research has refuted the notion that asking children directly about suicide will trigger suicidal thinking or behavior. It does not hurt to ask.”
Sheftall and Bridge say one-third of the children who committed suicide were diagnosed with mental health problems, including attention-deficit-hyperactivity disorder, more common in children than in early adolescents, who were more likely to be affected by depression or dysthymia, defined as persistent depression.
The report also notes a recent increase in suicide rates among black children.
The research team is currently investigating the best ways to screen young people for suicide risk in healthcare settings and make treatment recommendations for those deemed at risk.