Comparison of suicide attempts by male and female adolescents. Results of a 10-year patient population of a child and adolescent psychiatry clinic

OBJECTIVE: This study examines the way in which suicide attempts differ between male and female adolescents. METHODS: The characteristics of 173 female and 62 male adolescents who were treated at a clinic for child and adolescent psychiatry over a period of 10 years were investigated. RESULTS: Suicide attempts by adolescents in the patient population did not decrease in accordance with suicides in the same age-group among the general population. Male adolescents more often attempted suicide in a place where they were less likely to be discovered, but did not use a "harsher" method than female adolescents. The diagnosis rendered according to ICD-10 in 36% of cases was not always typical for the respective sex. CONCLUSIONS: The ways in which adolescents attempt suicide have clearly changed over the past years. Diagnoses that are untypical for the respective sex may represent a risk factor. Language: de