Suicide is the third-leading cause of death among people aged 10 to 24 years, resulting in 4600 lives lost each year [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Suicide Prevention: Youth Suicide. 2014]. Deaths from suicide are only a part of the problem. The rate of attempted suicides in young people is higher than completed suicides. Youth suicide attempts not only affect the child but also harm family, peers, and communities [Cross WF et al. J Prim Prev. 2011]. To date, little research has sought to understand the experience of parents of adolescents who have made nonlethal suicide attempts. An understanding of this experience has implications for creating acceptable and useful interventions for preventing youth suicide.

Kari Hickey, PhD, RN, Jeanette Rossetti, EdD, RN, Jan Strom, PhD, RN, Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, Illinois, USA, and Kelly Bryant, RN, MS, Linden Oaks at Edward Behavioral Health, Naperville, Illinois, USA, presented the results of this pilot study aimed at understanding the problem of adolescent suicide and the importance of understanding the parents of children who make a nonlethal suicide attempt. Another objective of the investigators was to become familiar with the Delphi technique and how it can be used to survey experts in adolescent psychiatric services. The study also was designed to identify important questions for uncovering issues most important to parents of children who attempt suicide.

The researchers employed the social-ecological model as a framework to better understand the problem of adolescent suicide. The Delphi technique of idea generation was used to survey an interdisciplinary panel of experts on adolescent mental health about the pertinent family, community, and societal factors involved in attempted youth suicide. The process consisted of 2 rounds of surveys given to the expert panel. Panelists chosen for the study were employed in the adolescent mental health unit at Midwestern Behavioral Health Hospital. They included social workers, clinical therapists, nurses, psychologists, and psychiatrists. A total of 31 experts were surveyed in round 1, and 16 were surveyed in round 2.

The experts were asked the following 5 questions designed to uncover issues most important to parents of children who attempt suicide: What matters most for parents whose child has made a nonlethal suicide attempt? What are the needs of parents whose child has made a nonlethal suicide attempt? What are current treatment interventions for parents whose child has made a nonlethal suicide attempt? What is the best method to recruit parents into a study examining their experiences after a child's suicide attempt? The last item asked experts what other fields of experts in adolescent suicide prevention to include in a larger Delphi study.

Each question had 3 to 6 answers, which the experts were asked to rate as “very important,” “quite important,” “neither,” “quite unimportant,” and “very unimportant.” The results for the first question are shown in Figure 1.

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Figure 1.

What Matters Most for Parents Whose Child Has Made a Nonlethal Suicide Attempt?

“Neither,” “quite unimportant,” and “very unimportant”: 0% across factors.Reproduced with permission from K Hickey, PhD, RN.

The presenters concluded that an advanced understanding of the parents' experience has implications for creating acceptable and useful interventions and communication strategies aimed at preventing youth suicide.