Executive functions and impulsivity in suicide attempter adolescents with major depressive disorder

ABSTRACTOBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between executive functions and suicidality in terms of impulsivity and depression severity.METHODS: Depressed adolescents who have made a suicide attempt in the last year (n = 32), depressed adolescents without a suicide attempt (n = 30), and healthy controls (n = 30) participated in the study in Dokuz Eylul University Faculty of Medicine, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. Clinical diagnoses were made according to the DSM-IV by applying Kiddie Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia Present and Lifetime Version (K-SADS-PL). Data were collected by using a sociodemographic data form, the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), Barratt Impulsiveness Scale, and the Children’s Depression Rating Scale – Revised (CDRS-R). To evaluate all participants’ intelligence scores, the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC-R) was applied for adolescents aged under 16 years, and the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS) w...