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Effective Youth Suicide Prevention: Evidence From Kentucky, Dessi Slavova, Hatim A. Omar

Pediatrics Faculty Publications

In 2013, Suicide was the second leading cause of death among U.S. young adolescents (15-19 years of age), accounting for 18.4% of all deaths in this age group. According to a nationally representative study on the lifetime prevalence of adolescent suicidal behaviors, 12.1% of U.S. adolescents experience suicidal ideation, 4.0% develop a plan, and 4.1% attempt suicide. The same study estimated that approximately 60% of young people with a suicide plan will attempt suicide, and most of the adolescents who subsequently make an attempt do so within the first year after the onset of ideation.

These findings support the importance …

Self-Cutting And Suicide In Adolescents, Donald E. Greydanus, Hatim A. Omar

Pediatrics Faculty Publications

Deliberate self-harm (DSH) is a common and typically secret phenomenon in adolescents, especially females that involves two main features—self-derogation and negative emotionality. Causes of non-suicidal self-injury include attempts to get help from professionals, express disgust or self-anger, resist suicidal thoughts, and correct episodes of dissociation. DSH is associated with eating disorders and alcohol abuse, as well as other illict drug abuse. Fortunately, most self-cutters are not at high risk for eventual suicide; however, all those with DSH histories should be carefully assessed for suicide as well as offered comprehensive management. Programs for prevention of suicide should be implemented for adolescents …

Disability And Suicide, Divya Nagraj, Hatim A. Omar

Pediatrics Faculty Publications

We provide a systematic review of suicide among adolescents with physical disabilities, intellectual disability and learning disability. A search was performed of English articles published prior to December 2014 in the PubMed database for studies examining suicide, suicidal behavior and suicidal ideation among adolescents with and without varied disabilities. Nine studies were retrieved, of which two studies examined adolescent populations with physical disabilities, three looked at suicide in adolescents with intellectual disability and four studies examined adolescents with learning disabilities. There were consistent results to prove that these adolescents with special needs had an increased tendency to commit suicide and …