THE DEVELOPMENTAL ORGINS OF SUICIDE MORTALITY

Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute Of Child Health & Human Development

Investigators

Abstract

One of the major public health consequences of mental illness is suicide, a leading cause of death among young people. Our own studies have shown that suicide risk within the context of mental illness is also developmental in nature. Children?s cognitive development was strongly related to adult suicide risk in a 40-year follow-up study of children in the Collaborative Perinatal Project (Hung et al., In Press, British Journal of Psychiatry). In addition, through collaborations with the Army ?STARRS? Study (Army Study to Assess Risk and Resilience in Servicemembers), we published 6 reports in 2015 detailing the sociodemographic (gender, occupation) and clinical correlates of suicide among soldiers, leading to methodologic studies aiming to improve suicide risk prediction.