title: Suicidal behavior in german adolescents. Prevalence and association with depressive and manic symptoms.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Research in adults has identified an association between bipolar disorder and suicidal behavior. This relationship, however, has been insufficiently investigated in adolescents to date.
  
  
  METHODS
  1,117 adolescents from 13 German schools (mean age = 14.83, SD = .63; 52.7% females) completed an extended German version of the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CES-D), which assesses depressive and manic symptoms during the last week, as well as the Self-Harm Behavior Questionnaire (SHBQ) for the assessment of lifetime suicidal behavior.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In the present sample 39.4% of the girls and 23.1% of the boys reported lifetime suicidal thoughts and 7.1% of the girls as well as 3.9% of the boys a lifetime history of suicide attempts. 18.7% of the adolescent sample revealed elevated symptoms of depression and 9% elevated levels of mania symptoms. Elevated sum scores of depression and mania were associated with a higher number of suicidal ideations and suicide attempts. A block-wise regression analysis revealed that sum scores of depression and mania predicted suicidal ideations best. Concerning suicide attempts, the best predictors were age as well as depression and mania sum scores.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Suicidal behavior was reported more often when adolescents demonstrate symptoms of mania as well as symptoms of depression than when they demonstrate only depressive symptoms. The presence of bipolar symptoms in adolescents should alert clinicians to the heightened possibility of suicidal behavior.
authors.affiliation: Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Hospital, <location>Ulm, Germany</location>
authors.forename: Joana
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Straub
authors.affiliation: Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Hospital, <location>Ulm, Germany</location>
authors.forename: Ferdinand
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Keller
authors.affiliation: Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Hospital, <location>Ulm, Germany</location>
authors.forename: Nina
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Sproeber
authors.affiliation: Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Hospital, <location>Ulm, Germany</location>
authors.forename: Michael G
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Koelch
authors.affiliation: Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Hospital, <location>Ulm, Germany</location>
authors.forename: Paul L
authors.initials: PL
authors.lastname: Plener
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000367:Age Factors; D001714:Bipolar Disorder / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D005858:Germany; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010555:Personality Inventory / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011594:Psychometrics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012737:Sex Factors; D059020:Suicidal Ideation; D013406:Suicide, Attempted / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*
keywords: Depression; Jugendliche; Manie; adolescents; bipolar disorder; bipolare Störung; depression; mania; suicidal behavior; suizidales Verhalten