title: Maternal versus adolescent reports of suicidal behaviors: a nationwide survey in Israel.
abstract: Community and nationwide surveys on adolescent suicidal behaviors using clinical interviews are not abundant. Rates of self-reported suicide attempts in community samples vary greatly between 1 and 20 %. In general, adolescent and parental agreement in child psychiatry practice is low, and their agreement with regard to suicidal behavior is unknown. The current study assesses the rates of suicidal ideation and behaviors as well as the rate of agreement between adolescents and their mothers in a representative nationwide sample. The survey included a representative and randomized community sample of 14- to 17-year-old adolescents (n = 957), and their mothers who were interviewed using the Development and Well-Being Assessment Inventory (DAWBA). The prevalence of suicidal ideation and self-initiated behaviors was 4.9 and 1.9 %, respectively. The concordance between mothers' and adolescents' reporting on ideation was low (7.3 %). There was no concordance between mothers' and adolescents' reports of suicidal acts. Adolescents reported self-initiated behaviors nearly three times more frequently than their mothers. Paternal unemployment, care by welfare agencies and having a psychiatric disorder, specifically depression or post-traumatic stress disorder, was associated with a higher risk for both suicidal ideation and attempts. In this nationwide community study, by evaluating information gathered by clinical interviews, it was found that the lifetime rates of suicidal ideation were moderate. The rates of suicide attempts were lower than have been previously reported. The concordance between the reports of adolescents and their mothers was low for ideation and nonexistent for attempts. Thus, clinicians should interview adolescents separately from their mothers regarding their suicidality.
authors.affiliation: Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Division, Geha Mental Health Center, P.O. Box 102, Petach Tiqwa, 49100, Israel. zalsman@post.tau.ac.il.|Child Psychiatry Department, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel. zalsman@post.tau.ac.il.|Division of Molecular Imaging and Neuropathology, Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA. zalsman@post.tau.ac.il.
authors.forename: Gil
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Zalsman
authors.affiliation: Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Division, Geha Mental Health Center, P.O. Box 102, Petach Tiqwa, 49100, Israel.|Child Psychiatry Department, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel.
authors.forename: Gal
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Shoval
authors.affiliation: Mental Health Services, Ministry of Health, Jerusalem, Interdisciplinary Center (IDC-Herzliya), Herzliya, Israel.|The Feinberg Child Study Center, Schneider Children's Medical Center of Israel, Petach Tikva, Israel.
authors.forename: Ivonne
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Mansbach-Kleinfeld
authors.affiliation: Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Ziv Hospital, Safed, Israel.|Faculty of Medicine in the Galilee, Bar-Ilan University, Safed, Israel.
authors.forename: Ilana
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Farbstein
authors.affiliation: Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Ziv Hospital, Safed, Israel.
authors.forename: Rasim
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Kanaaneh
authors.affiliation: Mental Health Services, Ministry of Health, Jerusalem, Interdisciplinary Center (IDC-Herzliya), Herzliya, Israel.
authors.forename: Gad
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Lubin
authors.affiliation: Child Psychiatry Department, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel.|Schneider Children's Medical Center of Israel, Petach Tiqwa, Israel.
authors.forename: Alan
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Apter
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006306:Health Surveys / Q000592:standards; D006801:Humans; D007557:Israel / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D009035:Mothers / Q000523:psychology*; D015995:Prevalence; D012111:Residence Characteristics; D012307:Risk Factors; D057566:Self Report / Q000592:standards; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology; D059020:Suicidal Ideation; D013406:Suicide, Attempted / Q000523:psychology*
keywords: Adolescence; Attempted suicide; Bias; Epidemiology; Health survey; Parents