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根据一项前瞻性、以学校为基础的群众研究结果显示，有焦虑感与分裂感的男孩在年轻的时候更可能自杀。
研究作者魁北克蒙大拿麦奎尔大学的Gustavo Turecki医师向Medscape精神学表示，这项研究针对焦虑感与分裂感所留下来的影响进行研究，至少对部分个体来说，自杀行为是个发育上的问题。
他表示，过去的研究证实，企图自杀与高程度的这些行为相关，但这是第一个透过确认不同儿童行为轨迹来厘清这之间关系的研究，与针对断面两点比较的研究不同。
作者写到，在等待未来研究的同时，预防性计划可能可以从考量儿童时期个体标记的性别差异而获益。
这项研究线上发表在11月号的儿童与青少年医学学志。
【容易受伤的一群】
儿童时期个性特征显然与自杀倾向有关；对于这之间关系的进一步了解，将可以协助找出处于特别高风险的族群，以及最能够因为即时介入而受益的族群。
为了确定可能预测年轻时自杀倾向的儿时焦虑感与分裂感特征，研究团队针对随机选择的1,001位男孩与999位女孩进行研究，这些受试者在1986至1988年之间在魁北克上幼稚园。
这些儿童在6至12岁时每年接受评估，之后在青少年时期接受一次评估（平均年龄15.7岁，范围自15至18岁），且接着在年轻时接受另一次评估（平均年龄21.4岁，范围为19至24岁）。
这些儿童的行为以老师的社会行为问卷为基础评估，这项问卷包括13个有关分裂感（例如与其他儿童争吵、烦躁、以及经常奔跑与跳跃）、以及6个有关焦虑感（例如易哭与感到恐惧）的项目。
【女孩们容易有焦虑与分裂感；男孩们容易有分裂感】
研究者找出与儿童焦虑有关的四种模式，以及四种儿童分裂的模式，分成非常轻度、轻度、中度与高度。
大约三分之一样本的这两个特征是非常轻度的，这两个特征仅有5%是高度的；一般来说，受试者的这两个特征是差不多的。
儿童时期中重度焦虑的受试者，相较于在儿童时期非常轻度或是轻度焦虑的同侪，当他们成长到青少年时期时，企图自杀的风险高出60%。同样的，儿童时期分裂程度较为严重的，相较于同侪，自杀的风险高出80%。
这两个特征都是中重度的受试者，其企图自杀风险高出88%%。
【成人初期企图自杀风险：高风险与低风险组比较】
|
儿童特征 |
胜算比 |
95% 信赖区间 |
|
焦虑感 |
1.60
|
1.00–2.65
|
|
分裂感 |
1.80
|
1.03–3.13
|
|
焦虑感与分裂感 |
1.88
|
1.05–3.37
|
Childhood Anxiousness and Disruptiveness May Predict Adult Suicide Risk
By Marlene Busko
Medscape Medical News
Anxious-disruptive girls and disruptive boys are more likely to attempt suicide in young adulthood, according to a prospective school-based cohort study.
"This study investigated childhood trajectories of anxiousness and disruptiveness and suggests that suicidal behavior, at least in a portion of individuals, is a developmental problem," study author Gustavo Turecki, MD, from McGill University, in Montreal, Quebec, told Medscape Psychiatry.
Previous studies have shown that attempted suicide is linked to high levels of these behaviors, but this is the first to demonstrate this association by identifying different childhood behavior trajectories, as opposed to looking at cross-sectional 2-point snapshots, he said.
"Pending further research, preventive programs may benefit from considering sex differences in personality markers as early as childhood," the authors write.
The study was published in the November issue of the Archives of Pediatric & Adolescent Medicine.
Vulnerable Groups
Personality traits seen in childhood appear to be linked to a predisposition to suicidality. Having a better understanding of this association would help identify groups of vulnerable people who are at particularly high risk for suicide and who would benefit from timely intervention.
To determine how the pattern of anxiousness and disruptiveness throughout childhood might predict suicide attempts in young adulthood, the researchers studied a representative randomly selected group of 1001 boys and 999 girls who attended kindergarten in Quebec from 1986 to 1988.
The children were assessed annually from ages 6 to 12 years, once in mid-adolescence at a mean age of 15.7 years (range, 15 to 18 years), and once in young adulthood at a mean age of 21.4 years (range, 19 to 24 years).
The children's behavior was assessed on the basis of teacher reports on the Social Behavior Questionnaire, which included 13 items about disruptiveness (such as fighting with other children, fidgeting, and always running and jumping), and 6 items about anxiousness (such as crying easily and being fearful).
Anxious-Disruptive Girls, Disruptive Boys
The researchers identified 4 patterns of childhood anxiousness and 4 patterns of childhood disruptiveness for each trait: very low, low, moderate, and high.
About one third of the sample had very low levels of both traits, but only 5% had high levels of both traits. In general, participants had similar levels of both traits.
Participants with moderate or high levels of anxiousness throughout childhood had a 60% greater risk for suicide attempt by the time they reached young adulthood, compared with their peers who had very low or low levels of anxiousness in childhood.
Similarly, children with greater disruptiveness in childhood had an 80% greater risk for suicide attempt in young adulthood than their peers.
Having moderate or high levels of both traits conferred an 88% increased risk for suicide attempt.
Risk for Suicide Attempt by Early Adulthood: High-Risk vs Low-Risk Groups*
| Childhood Trait | Odds Ratio | 95% CI |
| Anxiousness | 1.60 | 1.00–2.65 |
| Disruptiveness | 1.80 | 1.03–3.13 |
| Anxiousness and disruptiveness | 1.88 | 1.05–3.37 |
*High-risk = moderate or high levels of trait throughout childhood; low-risk = very low or low levels of trait throughout childhood.
However, further analysis revealed that the increased risk for suicide attempt related to high levels of both traits was true for girls only (odds ratio [OR], 3.60; P?<.001), not for boys (OR, 0.80; P?= .64).
The finding that girls at risk for suicide attempt appear to display both anxious and disruptive traits and boys appear to display mostly the latter needs to be examined in research that looks at possible explanations, such as gene–environment interactions, the researchers say.
In addition, they did not find that childhood anxiousness and disruptiveness increased the risk for suicide attempt by increasing the likelihood of adolescent anxiety/mood disorders or disruptive disorders. This may be due to the study's small sample size and should be examined further.
This work was supported by grants from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the National Consortium on Violence Research, Carnegie Mellon University, the Programme National de recherche et de developpement en matiere de sante, the Conseil Quebecois de la recherche sociale, and the Fonds Quebecois de la recherche sur la societe et la culture.The authors disclosed no relevant financial relationships.
Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 2008:162:1015-1021.