Abstract

PEREZ COLLADO, Janitzia; PEREZ COLLADO, Tania; AZCUY COLLADO, Martha  and  MIRABAL MARTINEZ, Grisell. Suicide attempts among adolescents: a community health problem. Rev Cubana Invest Bioméd [online]. 2014, vol.33, n.1, pp.70-80. ISSN 0864-0300.

Introduction: suicide attempts continue to play an important role in adolescent morbidity and mortality. Objective: characterize the behavior of suicide attempts in the municipality of Bahía Honda, province of Artemisa. Method: an observational descriptive study was conducted of 75 adolescents aged 15-18 diagnosed with suicide attempt from February 2011 to February 2012 at Manuel González Díaz polyclinic in the municipality of Bahía Honda, province of Artemisa. Individual and family health records were examined for information about risk perception and the behavior of study variables. The tools used were questionnaires and surveys (empirical method), as well as statistical methods, such as descriptive statistics with absolute frequency statigrams, mean percentage distribution, median, and the statistical package Epidat 3.4. Results: there was a predominance of the 15-year age group (26 patients), followed by the 16- and 18-year groups, with 21 and 10 patients, respectively. Of the total 75 patients studied, 65 were from urban areas (86.7%); 41 (54.7%) made a serious suicide attempt; and 48 (64%) of the attempts had a moderate degree of severity. The most common suicide methods were the intake of medicines (65 patients), intake of toxic substances (5 patients), hanging (3 patients) and jumping from heights (2 patients). 56 patients (74.7%) did not have a history of suicide attempts; 14 (18.7%) had attempted suicide once before; and 5 (6.7%) had attempted suicide two or more times before. Conclusions: there was a higher incidence of suicide attempts in the 15-year age group. More women than men attempted suicide. More adolescents attempting suicide were from urban areas than from rural areas. There was a predominance of suicide attempts classified as serious or moderately severe. The most common suicide method was the intake of medicines. Most of the patients studied did not have a history of suicide attempts.

Keywords : suicide attempt; adolescence.

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