💔 These warning signs of suicide in youth that adults don't see

Drawing on a landmark 25-year study from childhood to adulthood, a McGill University research team has identified two patterns of suicidal ideation onset as well as the warning signs that often go unnoticed.

Suicidal thoughts are increasingly common among young people, but their development and the mental health symptoms that often precede them are poorly understood, explain the scientists.


Published in the journal JAMA Psychiatry, this study involves an analysis of data from the Quebec Longitudinal Study of Child Development, one of the rare studies - there is only one other in the world - that has followed a large group of young people and regularly documented their suicidal thoughts.

Most of the 1,600 young participants never or rarely had suicidal thoughts. However, two distinct profiles emerged among those who reported suicidal thoughts: about 7% began having such thoughts in early adolescence (between ages 12 and 13), while 5% began having them in adulthood (between ages 20 and 25).

In the group that began having suicidal thoughts early, many had shown signs of mental disorders during childhood: disruptive behaviors (external symptoms that are usually visible) as well as depression and anxiety (internal symptoms that are often more difficult to detect).

"It's striking that parents and teachers often noticed children's behavioral problems but not their emotional distress," emphasizes the study's lead author, Marie-Claude Geoffroy, Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at McGill University, researcher at the Douglas Research Centre, and holder of the Canada Research Chair in Youth Mental Health and Suicide Prevention.

In contrast, participants whose suicidal thoughts emerged in early adulthood generally only presented internal symptoms that appeared during adolescence.

"When these signs are taken seriously, we can intervene without delay to protect children's development," specifies Charles-Édouard Notredame, co-author of the study and child and adolescent psychiatrist at the Lille University Hospital Centre.

Age-appropriate support, such as mental health programs in schools, could allow us to intervene with children and adolescents particularly effectively and at the right time, before suicidal thoughts become established, he adds.

Suicide is the second leading cause of death among youth and young adults in the country, according to data from the Government of Canada.

"Suicidal thoughts in young people are still too often considered just a 'phase'," explains Prof. Geoffroy. "However, our results highlight the need to implement suicide prevention measures without delay."