The British Journal of Psychiatry 158: 776-781 (1991)
© 1991 The Royal College of Psychiatrists
Sex differences in suicidal behaviour of referred adolescents
JM Rey and KD Bird
Rivendell Child Adolescent and Family Psychiatric Services, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, NSW, Australia.
Reports of suicidal behaviour from four countries using the same measures
were higher for girls than for boys, and higher in self- reports than in
parent reports for both referred and normal adolescents. In a sample of 480
referred adolescents, patterns of 'low' and 'high' suicidal scores were
different when age, sex and diagnosis were considered. The probability of
high scores for girls showed only a marginal increase with age, while there
was a striking rise for boys. An affective diagnosis doubled the
probability of high scores for both boys and girls, while it had no effect
on low scores. Psychosocial stressors also increased the probability of
high suicidal scores, particularly in adolescents with an affective
disorder. Sex differences in suicidal behaviour were marked in the
low-scoring groups.
