Prevalence of Suicidal Ideation Among Boys and Men Assessed Annually from Ages 9 to 29 Years
The authors thank the following employees of OSLC for their contributions: Jane Wilson, Rhody Hinks, and the Oregon Youth Study (OYS) data collection staff for their commitment to gathering high quality data, and Sally Schwader for editorial assistance.
The authors have no financial relationships to disclose. National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding agencies were not involved in design and conduct of the study; data collection, management, analysis, and interpretation; and preparation, review, or approval of the manuscript.
The OYS was supported in part by a research grant MH 37940 from the Psychosocial Stress and Related Disorders Branch, National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), U.S. Public Health Service (PHS). Additional support was provided by grant DA 051485 from the Division of Epidemiology, Services, and Prevention Branch, National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) and Cognitive, Social, and Affective Development, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), and grant HD 46364 from the Cognitive, Social, and Affective Development Branch, NICHD, and Division of Epidemiology, Services and Prevention Branch, NIDA.
Abstract
In a sample of 206 boys (90% Caucasian), self-reported suicidal ideation (SI; ages 12 to 29) and parent-reported youth suicidal talk (ages 9 to 20) were assessed annually by questionnaire. One-week point prevalence of self-reported SI ranged from 2.6% to 16.3%. New cases emerged across adolescence; by age 29, 57.3% self-reported SI at least once. SI was associated with clinically significant elevations on concurrent depressive symptoms. Nearly one quarter (24.8%) of parents reported suicidal talk by their son by age 20. Parent- and self-reports showed low correspondence. SI was more common than retrospective studies suggest. Parent-reports and one-time self-reports are likely to miss large numbers of adolescent boys who may be at risk.
