Abstract
Little is known about rates and correlates of suicidal ideation among nonclinical samples of preadolescents from low-income urban backgrounds. Using the Children's Depression Inventory, we measured suicidal ideation in 131 preadolescent urban children (49% female, 90% African American/Caribbean) participating in an ongoing prospective longitudinal study of prenatal cocaine exposure and children's outcome. Suicidal ideation was reported by 14.5% of the children in this sample at 9 to 10 years of age. Children's reports of depressive symptoms, exposure to violence, and distress symptoms in response to witnessing violence were associated with suicidal ideation, but prenatal cocaine exposure, parent-rated child behavior, and caregivers' psychological distress symptoms were not. Suicidal ideation may be more prevalent among preadolescents from urban, low-income backgrounds than clinicians suspect, particularly among children exposed to violence.
MeSH terms
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Black People / psychology
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Black People / statistics & numerical data*
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Black or African American
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Boston
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Child
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Child of Impaired Parents / psychology
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Child of Impaired Parents / statistics & numerical data
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Cocaine / adverse effects
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Cocaine-Related Disorders / epidemiology
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Cocaine-Related Disorders / psychology
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Cross-Sectional Studies
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Depressive Disorder / diagnosis
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Depressive Disorder / epidemiology*
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Depressive Disorder / psychology
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Female
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Hispanic or Latino / psychology
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Hispanic or Latino / statistics & numerical data
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Humans
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Incidence
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Infant, Newborn
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Longitudinal Studies
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Male
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Mothers / psychology
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Personality Assessment / statistics & numerical data
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Personality Inventory / statistics & numerical data
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Poverty / psychology
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Poverty / statistics & numerical data
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Pregnancy
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Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects
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Prospective Studies
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Psychometrics
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Risk Factors
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Social Environment
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Statistics as Topic
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Suicide / psychology
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Suicide / statistics & numerical data*
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Suicide, Attempted / psychology
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Suicide, Attempted / statistics & numerical data*
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Urban Population / statistics & numerical data*
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Violence / psychology
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Violence / statistics & numerical data
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White People / psychology
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White People / statistics & numerical data