Biomaterial Database

Risk factors for suicide attempts among Navajo adolescents. 1991

D C Grossman, and B C Milligan, and R A Deyo

Department of Pediatrics, University of Washington, Seattle.

BACKGROUND Rates of adolescent suicide in the United States are highest among Native Americans but little is known about risk factors for suicide attempts in this population. METHODS To identify risk factors for self-reported suicide attempts by Navajo adolescents, we analyzed the 1988 Indian Health Service Adolescent Health Survey that was administered to 7,254 students in grades 6 through 12 on the Navajo reservation. The responses of students reporting a past suicide attempt were compared to others. RESULTS Nearly 15 percent (N = 971) reported a previous suicide attempt; over half of those admitted to more than one attempt. Controlling for age, a logistic regression model revealed the following associations with suicide attempts: a history of mental health problems (OR = 3.2); alienation from family and community (OR = 3.2); having a friend who attempted suicide (OR = 2.8); weekly consumption of hard liquor (OR = 2.7); a family history of a suicide or attempt (OR = 2.3); poor self-perception of health (OR = 2.2); a history of physical abuse (OR = 1.9); female gender (OR = 1.7); and sexual abuse (OR = 1.5). CONCLUSIONS Efforts to prevent adolescent suicide attempts in this population should target individuals with those risk factors of the highest risk and prevalence of exposure.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D007198	Indians, North American	Members of indigenous North American populations with pre-colonial contact origins.	Amerinds, North American,Indigenous North Americans,American Indian, North,American, Indigenous North,Amerind, North American,Indian, North American,Indigenous North American,North American Amerind,North American Amerinds,North American Indian,North American Indians,North American, Indigenous
D008297	Male		Males
D010379	Peer Group	Group composed of associates of same species, approximately the same age, and usually of similar rank or social status.	Group, Peer,Groups, Peer,Peer Groups
D011795	Surveys and Questionnaires	Collections of data obtained from voluntary subjects. The information usually takes the form of answers to questions, or suggestions.	Community Survey,Nonrespondent,Questionnaire,Questionnaires,Respondent,Survey,Survey Method,Survey Methods,Surveys,Baseline Survey,Community Surveys,Methodology, Survey,Nonrespondents,Questionnaire Design,Randomized Response Technique,Repeated Rounds of Survey,Respondents,Survey Methodology,Baseline Surveys,Design, Questionnaire,Designs, Questionnaire,Methods, Survey,Questionnaire Designs,Questionnaires and Surveys,Randomized Response Techniques,Response Technique, Randomized,Response Techniques, Randomized,Survey, Baseline,Survey, Community,Surveys, Baseline,Surveys, Community,Techniques, Randomized Response
D002649	Child Abuse	Abuse of children in a family, institutional, or other setting. (APA, Thesaurus of Psychological Index Terms, 1994)	Abuse Experiences, Childhood,Child Neglect,Child Neglect Experiences,Child Neglect, Physical,Childhood Abuse Experiences,Childhood Neglect Experiences,Neglect Experience, Childhood,Neglect Experiences, Childhood,Physical Neglect, Childhood,Child Maltreatment,Child Mistreatment,Abuse Experience, Childhood,Abuse, Child,Child Neglect Experience,Childhood Abuse Experience,Childhood Neglect Experience,Childhood Physical Neglect,Childhood Physical Neglects,Experience, Child Neglect,Experience, Childhood Abuse,Experience, Childhood Neglect,Maltreatment, Child,Mistreatment, Child,Neglect Experience, Child,Neglect, Child,Neglect, Childhood Physical,Neglect, Physical Child,Physical Child Neglect,Physical Child Neglects
D003430	Cross-Sectional Studies	Studies in which the presence or absence of disease or other health-related variables are determined in each member of the study population or in a representative sample at one particular time. This contrasts with LONGITUDINAL STUDIES which are followed over a period of time.	Disease Frequency Surveys,Prevalence Studies,Analysis, Cross-Sectional,Cross Sectional Analysis,Cross-Sectional Survey,Surveys, Disease Frequency,Analyses, Cross Sectional,Analyses, Cross-Sectional,Analysis, Cross Sectional,Cross Sectional Analyses,Cross Sectional Studies,Cross Sectional Survey,Cross-Sectional Analyses,Cross-Sectional Analysis,Cross-Sectional Study,Cross-Sectional Surveys,Disease Frequency Survey,Prevalence Study,Studies, Cross-Sectional,Studies, Prevalence,Study, Cross-Sectional,Study, Prevalence,Survey, Cross-Sectional,Survey, Disease Frequency,Surveys, Cross-Sectional
D005190	Family	A social group consisting of parents or parent substitutes and children.	Family Life Cycles,Family Members,Family Life Cycle,Family Research,Filiation,Kinship Networks,Relatives,Families,Family Member,Kinship Network,Life Cycle, Family,Life Cycles, Family,Network, Kinship,Networks, Kinship,Research, Family
D005260	Female		Females
D006304	Health Status	The level of health of the individual, group, or population as subjectively assessed by the individual or by more objective measures.	General Health,General Health Level,General Health Status,Level of Health,Overall Health,Overall Health Status,General Health Levels,Health Level,Health Level, General,Health Levels,Health Status, General,Health Status, Overall,Health, General,Health, Overall,Level, General Health,Levels, General Health,Status, General Health,Status, Health,Status, Overall Health
D006305	Health Status Indicators	The measurement of the health status for a given population using a variety of indices, including morbidity, mortality, and available health resources.	Health Risk Appraisal,Health Status Index,Health Status Indexes,Appraisal, Health Risk,Appraisals, Health Risk,Health Risk Appraisals,Health Status Indicator,Health Status Indices,Index, Health Status,Indexes, Health Status,Indicator, Health Status,Indicators, Health Status,Indices, Health Status,Risk Appraisal, Health,Risk Appraisals, Health