M N V Giridhar
NTR University of Health Sciences, India
Title: Psychiatric comorbidity among adolescent suicide attempters
Biography
Biography: M N V Giridhar
Abstract
Statement of the Problem: Adolescence refers to the long transitional developmental period between childhood and adulthood and to a maturational developmental process involving major physical, psychological, cognitive, and social transformations. It is the time when they reach out to society, tentatively at first and then confidently. Relationship with same-sex and opposite-sex grows and it is also a time of many disappointments. The common adolescent complaint is – ‘no one understands me’. Adolescents can be reliable reporters of their suicide potential and the clinician needs to be sensitive to symptoms of a major depressive disorder in assessing potentially suicidal adolescent.
Methodology & Theoretical Orientation: 30 cases of adolescent suicide attempters admitted in Narayana General Hospital, Andhra Pradesh, India were recruited in the study and detailed evaluation was done using socio-demographic proforma, ICD-10 to arrive at a psychiatric diagnosis, suicide intent scale, and Hamilton Depression Rating scale to evaluate the level of depression.
Findings: Among suicide attempters, 67% (20 of 30) had psychiatric morbidity while there was no psychiatric morbidity among 33%. The severe depressive episode was present in 6.7%, a moderate depressive episode was present in 20%, mild depressive episode in 30%. 1 patient had adjustment disorder, dysthymia, and mixed anxiety and depression. No psychiatric diagnosis was noted in 33.3% of patients as in the pie chart below. It clearly indicates that majority of suicides in adolescents are followed by mild depressive episodes in contrary.
Conclusion & Significance: The results of the study indicated that there was a significant association between depressions scoring with suicide intent of the attempter. Two-thirds of the patients were diagnosed with psychiatric disorders at the time of admission. Psychiatric morbidity always should be taken into consideration when managing these groups of patients for further management.