Suicidality Among Preadolescent Maltreated Children in Foster Care

• Published in: Child maltreatment Vol. 19; no. 1; pp. 17 - 26
• Main Authors: Taussig, Heather N., Harpin, Scott B., Maguire, Sabine A.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Los Angeles, CA SAGE Publications 01.02.2014; Sage Publications; SAGE PUBLICATIONS, INC
• Subjects: Adolescents; Adult and adolescent clinical studies; Age Factors; At risk youth; Biological and medical sciences; Caregivers; Carers; Child; Child abuse & neglect; Child Abuse - psychology; Child Abuse - statistics & numerical data; Child psychology; Child Welfare; Child Welfare - statistics & numerical data; Children; Cohort Studies; Female; Foster Care; Foster Children; Foster Home Care - statistics & numerical data; Gender Differences; Harm Reduction; Humans; Male; Maltreated children; Medical sciences; Mental health care; Mental Health Services; Multiple Regression Analysis; Older children; Preadolescents; Prevalence; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychopathology. Psychiatry; Regression Analysis; Risk; Risk Factors; Self Destructive Behavior; Suicidal behaviour; Suicidal Ideation; Suicide; Suicide, Attempted - psychology; Suicide, Attempted - statistics & numerical data; Suicides & suicide attempts; Time Factors; Victimology; preadolescent; child maltreatment; screening; foster care; suicide; Human; Prevalence; Foster care placement; Victimology; Epidemiology; Preadolescent; Suicide attempt; Child abuse; Suicide ideation; Public health
• DOI: 10.1177/1077559514525503
• ISSN: 1077-5595

This study sought to determine the prevalence of suicidal ideation, plans, and attempts among 515 preadolescent (aged 9–11 years) maltreated children who entered foster care within the prior year. Over a quarter (26.4%) of the children had a history of suicidality according to their own and/or their caregiver’s report, 4.1% of whom were imminently suicidal. In bivariate analyses, children at higher risk of suicidality tended to be younger, non-Hispanic, abused, and to have experienced multiple types of maltreatment, more referrals to child welfare, more household transitions, and a longer length of time in foster care. There were no gender differences. Multiple regression analyses found physical abuse and chronicity of maltreatment to be the most robust predictors of suicidality. It is critically important that these high-risk children are screened for suicidality before adolescence and that caregivers and professionals are informed of their risk status so that they may implement mental health treatment, monitoring, and harm reduction measures.