Teen Suicide Linked to Dating Violence, Sexual Assault

Urban teen girls who have been physically abused by a boyfriend in the past year are 60% more likely to attempt suicide than those who have not, says Dr. Elyse Olshen of Columbia University, New York, and colleagues. For boys, however, it was sexual abuse that served as a catalyst for attempted suicide.

Teens who were confused about their sexual orientation were also more prone to suicide. Among these teens, boys were 3.4 times more likely and girls were 2.5 times more likely than heterosexual teens to attempt suicide at least once in the past year.

The authors recommended that clinicians “should have a low threshold for referring these at-risk teenagers for mental health services" based upon these results.

The article appears in the June 2007 issue of the Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine.