Social psychiatry and psychiatric epidemiology
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Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol · Oct 2013
The risk of adolescent suicide across patterns of drug use: a nationally representative study of high school students in the United States from 1999 to 2009.
Substance use is associated with suicidal ideation, planning and attempts among adolescents, but it is unclear how this association varies across different types and number of substances. This study examined the association between patterns of substance use and suicidality among a nationally representative sample of high school students in the United States during the last decade. ⋯ Substance abuse is a strong risk factor for suicidal thoughts and behaviors among American high school students, with the strength of this relationship dramatically increasing with particular illicit drugs and a higher number of substances. The findings reinforce the importance of routine screening for substance abuse in the assessment of adolescent suicide risk.