Childhood trajectories of anxiousness and disruptiveness as predictors of suicide attempts.
OBJECTIVE
To investigate the association of childhood trajectories of anxiousness and disruptiveness with suicide attempts in early adulthood.


METHODS
Prospective cohort study.


METHODS
Public francophone schools in Quebec, Canada, from the 1986 to 1988 school years.


METHODS
Of 4,488 French Canadian children attending kindergarten, a representative group of 1,001 boys and 999 girls was chosen for follow-up. Of these, 1,144 individuals participated in the study during early adulthood.


METHODS
Suicide attempt histories by early adulthood, adjusted odds ratios (ORs) associated with membership in high- vs low-risk trajectories of anxiousness and disruptiveness, moderation (by sex), and mediation (by adolescent Axis I disorders).


RESULTS
We observed 4 distinct developmental profiles of anxiousness and disruptiveness and a frequent co-occurrence of similar levels of these traits. In contrast to anxiousness trajectories (OR = 1.60; 95% confidence interval, 1.00-2.65), disruptiveness (OR = 1.80; 95% confidence interval, 1.03-3.13) and joint (OR = 1.88; 95% confidence interval, 1.05-3.37) trajectories made statistically significant contributions to suicide attempts. We found no support for mediation by adolescent anxiety/mood or disruptive disorders. Sex, however, moderated the effect of joint trajectories, increasing the risk of suicide attempts in women (OR = 3.60; Wald chi(2) = 10.93; P < .001) but not men (OR = 0.80; Wald chi(2) = 0.23; P = .64) displaying both anxious and disruptive traits as children.


CONCLUSIONS
Anxious-disruptive girls and disruptive boys appear to be more likely than their peers to attempt suicide by early adulthood. Preventive efforts will require more research into the possible mechanisms behind this early sex difference, ie, gene-environment interplays and nonpsychiatric mediators.
Brezo
Jelena
J
McGill Group for Suicide Studies, Montreal, QC, Canada.
Barker
Edward D
ED
Paris
Joel
J
Hébert
Martine
M
Vitaro
Frank
F
Tremblay
Richard E
RE
Turecki
Gustavo
G
D001008:Anxiety Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology; D019958:Attention Deficit and Disruptive Behavior Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology; D002648:Child; D015331:Cohort Studies; D039721:Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D015995:Prevalence; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D013406:Suicide, Attempted / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D055815:Young Adult