Longitudinal Associations between Multi-trajectories of Childhood Emotional and Behavioral Problems and Suicidal Ideation and Attempt by Adulthood

• In Event: Poster Session 04
  In Poster Session: PS 04 Topic - Developmental Psychopathology

Abstract

Background: Suicide is a leading cause of death in young people aged 10-19 years (Glenn, 2020). Given that one third of youth with suicidal ideation will make an attempt and that suicide attempts are the strongest predictors of death by suicide, it is essential to better understand the contribution of modifiable childhood factors (i.e. externalizing, internalizing and comorbid problems) to suicidal ideation and suicide attempts (Nock, 2013 ;Geoffroy, 2020). Studies have shown that children with externalizing and internalizing problems are at greater risk of attempting suicide by early adulthood than those with no problems (Soto-Sanz, 2019), however gaps in the literature still remain. First, though comorbid externalizing and internalizing problems have been found to be associated with suicide attempt (Sourander, 2009), no study has yet examined whether children with comorbid problems carry additional suicidal risk compared to children with only externalizing or internalizing problems. Second, no study has compared associations between externalizing internalizing and comorbid problems to suicidal ideation and attempt. Given that these aspects of suicidality have been predicted by different factors (May, 2016), it is crucial to understand whether childhood emotional and behavioral problems differentially predict distinctive aspects of suicidal risk. Third, findings on sex differences in the associations between comorbid externalizing and internalizing problems and suicidal risk have been scarce and inconsistent (Sourander, 2009; Brezo, 2008). As such there is a need to clarify sex differences in these associations. Given the state of the literature, our aims were to create multi-trajectory groups of childhood externalizing and internalizing problems, examine them as predictors of suicidal ideation and attempt, and explore sex differences.
Methods: Participants (N=3017) were from The Quebec Longitudinal Study of Kindergarten Children, a population-based sample of participants of kindergarteners. Childhood problems were assessed yearly from age 6-12 with teacher-reports of the Social Behavior Questionnaire. Lifetime suicidal ideation and suicide attempt were assessed using adolescent and parent reports of the Diagnostic Interview Schedule (DIS) for Children at 15 and self-reports of the DIS at 21.
Results: The latent class growth curve identified multi-trajectories were: low problems, displaying low internalizing and low externalizing across time (n=1369,45.35%); internalizing, displaying high internalizing and low externalizing across all time (n=354,11.74%); externalizing, displaying low internalizing and moderate externalizing across time (n=882,29.23%) and; comorbid, displaying moderate and increasing internalizing, and high but stable externalizing (n=413,13.65%). Compared to children in the low/no problem group, those in the externalizing, internalizing and comorbid groups were at higher risk for suicide attempt but not suicide ideation. Females rather than males with comorbid problems were at the highest risk of attempting suicide compared to all other groups. Further, males but not females were at higher risk for suicide ideation compared to the no/low problem group.
Implications: The results point to childhood emotional and behavioral problems, especially comorbidity in females as a risk factor for suicide attempt but not suicidal ideation. They also suggest that males with internalizing problems are at risk for suicidal ideation. More research in this area can help identify early targets for interventions.

Authors

• Melissa Commisso, McGill University
  Presenting Author

• Caroline Temcheff, Université de Sherbrooke
  Non-Presenting Author

• Massimiliano Orri, University of Bordeaux
  Non-Presenting Author

• Martine Poirier, Université du Québec à Rimouski
  Non-Presenting Author

• Marianne Lau, McGill University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Sylvana Cote, Université de Montréal
  Non-Presenting Author

• Frank Vitaro, Université de Montréal
  Non-Presenting Author

• Gustavo Turecki, McGill University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Richard E. Tremblay, University of Montreal
  Non-Presenting Author

• Marie-Claude Geoffroy, McGill University
  Non-Presenting Author