THIRTEEN ADOLESCENT MALE SUICIDE ATTEMPTS: Dynamic Considerations

The study of suicidal attempts in thirteen adolescent males and the findings of early and chronic separation trauma are reported, which suggest that adolescent males with a history of suicidal thoughts may be at risk of developing suicidal behavior.

Abstract

Conservatively, Jacobziner (1965) estimates that 60,000 suicide attempts are made each year in this country by persons under the age of twenty. Suicide is the fourth most frequent cause of death in the fifteento nineteen-year-old age group, excluding deaths attributed to accidents, the largest cause of death in this age group, which also may be related to suicidal behavior. Moodiness, sadness, and depression are readily observable as part of the emotional experiences of adolescence. Indeed, when these feelings are not exhibited, one may wonder about the emotional health of the individual. However, when the adolescent actually attempts to act on his morbid fantasies, we do not ascribe this behavior to normal developmental processes. Psychoanalysis has shed much light upon the so-called “normal” moods of adolescence, but little has been written about the pathology manifested by suicidal acts (Jacobson, 196 1). This paper reports the study of suicidal attempts in thirteen adolescent males. Our findings of early and chronic separation trauma,