Association between Family History of Suicidal Behavior and Neurocognitive Functioning in Community Youth

• In Event: 1-040 - Family History of Suicidal Behaviors and Youth Outcomes

Integrative Statement

Introduction: Suicide is a major public health concern in the United States. It is one of the leading causes of death and suicide rates have increased in recent years among youth. In addition to affecting the individual who attempts or completes suicide, there is substantial evidence that having a family history of suicide is a risk factor for a host of negative outcomes. For example, youth exposed to a suicide attempt or completion of a first-degree relative are more likely than non-exposed youth to experience suicidal ideation, make a suicide attempt, abuse drugs and alcohol, experience psychological distress, and struggle in school. Much less research has focused on the cognitive functioning of individuals with a family history of suicide. One study, using a small sample of adults, found that family history of suicide was associated with poorer performance on a decision-making task, but not on tests of cognitive control. Adolescence is a developmental period characterized by rapid development in cognitive functioning. Therefore, research on how having a family history of suicide relates to cognitive functioning in youth is warranted. In the present, we examined how family history of suicide relates to performance on a neurocognitive battery in a large sample of community youth.
Hypothesis: We predicted that youth with a family history of suicide would perform worse on the neurocognitive battery than youth without a family history of suicide.
Study population: Participants were drawn from the Philadelphia Neurodevelopmental Cohort (PNC), a sample of 9,498 non-psychiatric-help-seeking community youth aged 8-21 years. Six percent (n = 601) of PNC participants reported a family history of suicide attempt or completion in a first-degree relative. We created two matched samples. Sample 1 (n = 5,409; 9:1 match) was matched on age, gender, race, and verbal IQ. Sample 2 (n = 3,606; 6:1 match) was matched on age, gender, race, verbal IQ, and depression diagnosis.
Methods: Family history of suicide attempt or completion in a first-degree relative was assessed with the Family Interview for Genetic Studies. Cognitive functioning was assessed with the Penn Computerized Neurocognitive Battery (CNB). The CNB assesses four cognitive domains: executive control, episodic memory, complex cognition, and social cognition. Participants receive an efficiency score for each domain as well as an overall score. Efficiency is the sum of a participant’s standardized speed and accuracy scores. Verbal IQ was assessed with the reading subtest of the Wide Range Achievement Test (WRAT-4). Depression diagnosis was assessed with a structured clinical interview.
Results: In matched sample 1, youth with a family history of suicide performed significantly worse on the tests of executive control than youth without a family history, t(5374) = 2.41, p = .02, d = .10, 95% CI [.02, .19]. No other significant differences emerged. In matched sample 2, also matched on depression diagnosis, the two groups did not differ on any of the cognitive domains. Results suggest that executive control (e.g., attention) is impaired in youth with a family history of suicide; however, this difference may be explained by depression symptoms.

Authors

• Jason Jones, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia
  Presenting Author

• Rhonda Boyd, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
  Non-Presenting Author

• Tyler M Moore, University of Pennsylvania
  Non-Presenting Author

• Annisa Ahmed, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
  Non-Presenting Author

• Monica E Calkins, University of Pennsylvania
  Non-Presenting Author

• Tami D Benton, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
  Non-Presenting Author

• Ran Barzilay, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
  Non-Presenting Author

• Raquel Gur, University of Pennsylvania
  Non-Presenting Author

• Ruben C Gur, University of Pennsylvania
  Non-Presenting Author