Why Do Adolescents Attempt Suicide?

Suicide among teenagers is infrequent. However, teens have a relatively higher rate of suicide attempts than adults.

Much of suicide research is concerned with who attempts suicide rather than why they do so. For both researchers and clinicians to gain a better understanding of what contributes to an individual’s suicide attempt, Dr. David Klonsky of the University of British Columbia developed the Inventory of Motivations for Suicide Attempts (IMSA), based on several widely accepted theories of suicide.

In the present study, Dr. Klonsky utilized the IMSA to assess suicide attempt motivations of 52 adolescents ages 12-17 years (mean age 14.8 years) who were hospitalized at a psychiatric inpatient unit after a suicide attempt.