Suicidal Behaviors in Adolescents With ADHD

This is the authors' abstract. We don't add key points for this paper.

OBJECTIVE: To examine potential predictors of lifetime suicidal behaviors (SBs) in adolescents with ADHD. METHOD: Participants were 101 adolescents with ADHD aged 11 to 18 years, evaluated for lifetime SB and psychopathology with semistructured interviews, and for lifetime trauma exposure, parent-child conflict, ADHD symptoms, and functional impairment with child, parent, and teacher ratings. RESULTS: Controlling for the effects of age, female sex, and comorbid depressive and other disorders, lifetime SB (n = 28) remained significantly associated (p = .001) with parent-child conflict, and to a lesser extent (p < .05) with impairment in nonacademic domains of function and breadth of exposure to victimization events. Measures related to past and current ADHD symptoms and signs were not associated with lifetime SB. CONCLUSION: Apart from depression, clinicians should pay particular attention to parent-child conflict, victimization trauma, and social impairment rather than levels of ADHD symptoms when weighing the likelihood of SB in youth with ADHD.