Suicídio em Adolescentes Usuários de Drogas: Variáveis Associadas

Abstract

This study investigated the characteristics associated with suicidal behavior in adolescent users of psychoactive substances treated at a Brazilian mental health service. Based on a previewed prepared list of topics, information was extracted from the adolescents' medical records about sociodemographic characteristics, drug use, mental disorders, physical exercise practice, history of suicidal ideation, and suicide attempts. We analyzed 93 medical records. To analyze the variables, the Chi-Square test and analysis of variance were used. The percentage of medical records containing a record of suicidal ideation was significantly associated with the variables: “female”, “not practicing physical activities”, and “psychotropic medication”. There was a close association with “psychiatric disorder hypothesis”. The history of suicide attempts was related to the variables of “female” and “psychotropic medication”. There was a close association with “not practicing physical activities”. Studies with a larger sample size are still necessary, considering the role of intervening variables to confirm the results.