BACKGROUND The purpose of this study was to gain knowledge about the circumstances related to suicide among children and adolescents 15 years and younger. METHODS We conducted a psychological autopsy, collecting information from parents, hospital records and police reports on persons below the age of 16 who had committed suicide in Norway during a 12-year period (1993-2004) (n = 41). Those who committed suicide were compared with children and adolescents who were killed in accidents during the same time period (n = 43) and with a community sample. RESULTS Among the suicides 25% met the criteria for a psychiatric diagnosis and 30% had depressive symptoms at the time of death. Furthermore, 60% of the parents of the suicide victims reported the child experienced some kind of stressful conflict prior to death, whereas only 12% of the parents of the accident victims reported such conflicts. CONCLUSION One in four suicide victims fulfilled the criteria for a psychiatric diagnosis. The level of sub-threshold depression and of stressful conflict experienced by youths who committed suicide did not appear to differ substantially from that of their peers, and therefore did not raise sufficient concern for referral to professional help.

中文翻译：

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自杀的儿童和青少年与其同龄人之间的差异：与事故受害者和社区样本相比，自杀受害者的心理尸检。

背景 本研究的目的是了解 15 岁及以下儿童和青少年与自杀相关的情况。方法 我们进行了心理尸检，从父母、医院记录和警方报告中收集有关在挪威 12 年期间（1993-2004）（n = 41）自杀的 16 岁以下人员的信息。将自杀者与同期在事故中丧生的儿童和青少年（n = 43）和社区样本进行了比较。结果 在自杀者中，25% 符合精神病学诊断标准，30% 在死亡时有抑郁症状。此外，60% 的自杀受害者的父母报告说，孩子在死前经历了某种压力冲突，而只有 12% 的事故受害者的父母报告了这种冲突。结论 四分之一的自杀受害者符合精神病学诊断标准。自杀青年所经历的亚阈值抑郁和压力冲突的水平似乎与同龄人没有显着差异，因此没有引起足够的关注转介专业帮助。