High
risk of suicide in children of suicide
attempters
Some
studies on families, twins and adoption have
demonstrated that suicide runs in families,
however the risk factors for hereditary
transmission of suicide behaviour from parents
to offspring have not been fully determined.
Investigators compared the offspring of two
groups of depressed patients, 81 having
previously attempted suicide and 55
non-attempters, with 183 and 116 offspring,
respectively. Parents and children were
evaluated on the basis of psychopathological
findings, history of suicide attempt, impulsive
agression and exposure to familial environment
stressors. The offspring assessment was blind to
parent status.
Offspring of parents who had attempted suicide
had a six-fold increased risk of attempting
suicide compared with offspring of
non-attempters. History of sexual abuse in both
parents and children, offspring substance abuse,
mood disorder, enhanced impulsive aggression and
female gender were factors that significantly
increased risk.
These results show that the children of suicide
attempters are at a high risk of attempting
suicide themselves. The authors of this study
suggest that clinicians who treat patients
having attempted suicide and had a history of
sexual abuse, should see their children since
their risk of commiting suicide is far from
negligible. Arch
Gen Psychiatry 59: 801-807, 2002