Suicidal and assaultive behavior in children: classification, measurement, and interrelations

In 102 children aged 6 to 12 years who were in a municipal psychiatric inpatient or outpatient clinic, the authors identified four groups of suicidal and/or assaultive behaviors. Logistic regression analyses showed that neurosis, intellectualization, and low levels of aggression predicted membership in the nonassaultive-nonsuicidal group; intense aggression, parental suicidal behavior, parental assaultive behavior, and compensation predicted it in the assaultive-suicidal group; depression, a minimum of aggression, and adjustment disorder predicted it in the suicidal-only group; and intense aggression and absence of depression predicted it in the assaultive-only group. Two clearly distinct types of suicidal children were delineated.