THE ESSENTIAL
- Several studies have shown that people whose parent has killed themselves have a higher risk of committing suicide or self-harm than others.
- New research shows that the period when a person reaches the age of the deceased parent is particularly critical.
- The researchers state in their article that “suicide is not inevitable after the suicide of a parent, with the absolute risk of suicide among children of people who die by suicide being estimated at less than 1%.”
People whose parents have committed suicide are more likely to self-harm or do the same than other individuals. Several studies have already demonstrated this fact. Researchers from University College London (UCL) have identified a particularly risky period: suicide attempts and psychological distress are particularly high when the person reaches the age at which their parent committed the act.
The research was published in the journal Suicide and Life-Threatening Behaviors.
Suicide: twice the risk at the age of the parent’s death
For this research, the scientists took data from five Danish registers. They identified people whose parents died between 1980 and 2016. They analyzed the causes of death as well as hospital records of self-harm or attempted suicide.
The participants were separated into two groups: those whose parents committed suicide and those whose parents died of other causes. The researchers compared the risk of self-harm and attempted suicide during the period when the person was of a similar age to their deceased parent (plus or minus a year) with the 15 years before and after this “date”.
On average, the individuals followed reached the age of deceased parent 24 years after their loss. Analysis of the data also revealed that those who had a parent take their own life were around twice as likely to self-harm or commit suicide at the same age compared to those 15 years before or after. People whose parents died of other causes did not have an increased risk during the age-matching period.
Suicide: identify the risk period to prevent
For the authors of the study, their work supports “the idea of a dynamic grieving process, as the high risk of suicidal behavior in old age [des parents] could also represent a period of loss orientation and increased distress.”
For them, it would therefore be beneficial to question people bereaved by suicide about the age of their deceased in order to identify and anticipate the “period of increased risk” in order to “plan for more support” at that time.
The researchers specify in their article that “suicide is not inevitable after the suicide of a parent, with the absolute risk of suicide among children of people who die by suicide being estimated at less than 1%.”
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