Psychotic-like experiences are associated with suicidal feelings and deliberate self-harm behaviors in adolescents aged 12-15 years.
OBJECTIVE
Psychotic disorders are a significant risk factor for suicide, especially among young people. Psychotic-like experiences (PLEs) in the general population may share an etiological background with psychotic disorders. Therefore, the present study examined the association between PLEs and risk of suicide in a community sample of adolescents.


METHODS
Psychotic-like experiences, suicidal feelings, and self-harm behaviors were studied using a self-report questionnaire administered to 5073 Japanese adolescents. Depression and anxiety were evaluated using the 12-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ).


RESULTS
The presence of PLEs was significantly associated with suicidal feelings (OR = 3.1, 95% CI = 2.2-4.5) and deliberate self-harm behaviors (OR = 3.1, 95% CI = 2.0-4.8) after controlling for the effects of age, gender, GHQ-12 score, victimization, and substance use. Suicidal feelings and behaviors were more prevalent in subjects with a greater number of PLEs.


CONCLUSIONS
Psychotic-like experiences may increase the risk of suicidal problems among adolescents.
Nishida
A
A
Department of Schizophrenia Research, Tokyo Institute of Psychiatry, 2-1-8 Kamikitazawa, Setagaya, Tokyo, Japan. nishidaa@prit.go.jp
Sasaki
T
T
Nishimura
Y
Y
Tanii
H
H
Hara
N
N
Inoue
K
K
Yamada
T
T
Takami
T
T
Shimodera
S
S
Itokawa
M
M
Asukai
N
N
Okazaki
Y
Y
D000293:Adolescent; D001007:Anxiety / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*; D002648:Child; D019548:Crime Victims / Q000523:psychology; D003863:Depression / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan; D008297:Male; D011618:Psychotic Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*; D012307:Risk Factors; D016728:Self-Injurious Behavior / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000523:psychology; D013405:Suicide / Q000523:psychology*