BackgroundYoung children involved in the child welfare system (CWS) are at high risk for suicidal ideation (SI) at a time when overall rates of suicide death in this age group are rising. Yet risk factors for and changes in SI over time are poorly understood in this population.MethodWe combined data from two large representative longitudinal studies of children involved in the United States CWS. We examined patterns of SI among children who were between ages 7 and 12 years at the initial survey wave (N = 2,186), assessed at three waves using a measure of SI in the past 2 weeks. We conducted a multinomial regression to understand the baseline demographic, child maltreatment, and mental health characteristics that distinguish the trajectories.ResultsThere were eight different subgroups (Non‐Ideators, Late Ideators, Boomerang Ideators, Delayed Ideators, Desisters, Boomerang Non‐Ideators, Late Desisters, and Persisters). Differences in race, type of maltreatment, sex, and mental health symptoms were identified when comparing Persisters (SI at all three waves) to other groups.ConclusionsThese findings can help researchers and practitioners to develop strategies for better identifying CWS‐involved children who are in greatest need of suicide risk monitoring and intervention.

中文翻译：

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儿童福利参与的7至12岁儿童自杀意念的纵向轨迹

背景当该年龄段的总体自杀死亡率不断上升时，参与儿童福利系统（CWS）的幼儿处于自杀意念（SI）的高风险中。然而，对于这一人群中 SI 的危险因素和随时间的变化知之甚少。方法我们结合了两项针对美国 CWS 儿童的大型代表性纵向研究的数据。我们检查了初次调查时 7 至 12 岁儿童的 SI 模式（氮= 2,186），在过去 2 周内使用 SI 度量进行了三波评估。我们进行了多项回归，以了解区分轨迹的基线人口统计、儿童虐待和心理健康特征。结果有八个不同的亚组（非创意者、晚期创意者、回旋镖创意者、延迟创意者、终止姐妹、回旋非创意者、晚期创意者）绝望者和坚持者）。在将坚持者（所有三波中的 SI）与其他群体进行比较时，发现了种族、虐待类型、性别和心理健康症状方面的差异。结论这些发现可以帮助研究人员和从业者制定策略，以更好地识别患有 CWS 的儿童最需要自杀风险监测和干预。