International Union for Circumpolar Health Ministry of Public Health and Social Development of RF Russian Academy of Medical Sciences Siberian Branch of Russian Academy of Medical Sciences Siberian Branch of Russian Academy of Sciences Medical Polar Fund “Science” The Northern Forum

Abstracts

Behavioral Health

Objectives: The number of suicides among adolescents in Greenland has increased dramatically in the past 50 years. The debate about adolescent life in Greenland has often focused on physical violence, alcohol problems and sexual abuse, but there has been a lack of specific knowledge of the prevalence and characteristics of these problems among adolescents. The objective of this study is therefore to identify characteristics of those who experience these problems. The study will furthermore explore the consequences of the problems on the mental and social well-being of adolescents who attempt suicide.

Study Design: A survey using computer based self-interview questionnaire among 508 school children age 15 to 18 (corresponding to 1/3 of the population in these ages). The study took place in 7 different geographic locations across Greenland.

Results: 37 % of the respondents report serious suicidal ideations and 23 % have attempted to commit suicide. More girls than boys report suicidal behaviour. Half of the girls in the study have had suicidal ideations and 20 % of the boys. A third of the girls have attempted to commit suicide and 11 % of the boys. These differences in gender remain when controlling for differences in depression and anxiety symptoms. Those who reported suicide attempts more often have a socially or educationally less privileged background and they have more often been exposed to parents with adaptation difficulties (here expressed by respondents living in family care and/or having witnessed alcohol problems in their nearest family). Those who have attempted suicide have more often been physically punished by their parents and have more often known others who have committed suicide. There was a greater mean of anxiety and depression symptoms among those who have attempted suicide compared with those who have not attempted suicide.

Conclusions: Suicide attempts among the adolescents in this study population can be seen as a result of a childhood marked by poor experiences, such as familial alcohol abuse and violence, in combination with their own current mental health problems. These findings underline the need for a wide preventive effort towards socially exposed adolescents.

Note. Abstracts are published in author's edition

© 1996-2005, Siberian Branch of Russian Academy of Sciences, Novosibirsk
Last update: 06-Jul-2012 (11:52:05)