Parents often don't know when teens have suicidal thoughts

Three in four parents are unaware whentheir teens have recurrent thoughts about suicide, and a bigpart of the problem may be that adolescents often deny feelingthis way, a U.S. study suggests.

Researchers interviewed 5,137 adolescents, ages 11 to 17,along with one parent or stepparent. Most teens in the studydidn't report suicidal thoughts.

But when they did, half of their parents were unaware theseteens had thoughts of killing themselves and 76 per cent ofparents didn't know when teens regularly thought about death,researchers report in Pediatrics.

"These findings highlight the importance of opencommunication between parents and adolescents and creating asafe and supportive family environment where adolescents feelcomfortable disclosing their problems and concerns to parentsand parents feel comfortable soliciting information from theirteens having difficult conversations," said lead study authorJason Jones of the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and theUniversity of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine.

"Teens need to know they can depend on their parents intimes of need," Jones said by email. "Parents should also nothesitate to seek help if they have concerns."

The most important take-home message for parents is askyour teen how they are doing, and if you notice a change inbehaviour or energy level, get help from their primary careprovider or mental health professional.- Dr. Jacqueline Grupp-Phelan

Among other things, interviewers asked the youngsters andparents if the children had ever thought of killing themselvesor if they thought a lot about death.

Overall, children and parents were more likely to share acommon awareness of adolescents' suicidal thoughts when childrenwere older than when they were preteens.

For girls, however, parents were more likely to recognizethoughts of death at younger ages and less likely to be aware ofsuicidal thoughts at younger ages.

With boys, the opposite was true, and parents were lessaware of suicidal thoughts for older teens.

Suicidal thoughts goundetected

About one in 10parents in the study were fathers, and dadswere more likely to miss teens' suicidal thoughts than mothers.

The study wasn't a controlled experiment designed to provewhether or how parents' recognition of teens' suicidal thoughts,or teens' awareness of their own feelings, might directly impactthe chance of self-harm or death by suicide. It's also not clearif results from pediatrics health clinics in Philadelphia wouldbe similar elsewhere in the country.

Where to get help:

Canada Suicide Prevention Service:1-833-456-4566 (Phone) |45645 (Text) |crisisservicescanada.ca(Chat)

In Quebec (French):Association qubcoise de prvention du suicide: 1-866-APPELLE (1-866-277-3553)

Kids Help Phone: 1-800-668-6868 (Phone), Live Chat counselling atwww.kidshelpphone.ca

Canadian Association for Suicide Prevention:Find a 24-hour crisis centre

If you're worried someone you know may be at risk of suicide, you should talk to them about it,says theCanadian Association forSuicide Prevention.Here aresomewarning signs:

Suicidal thoughts.
Substance abuse.
Purposelessness.
Anxiety.
Feeling trapped.
Hopelessness and helplessness.
Withdrawal.
Anger.
Recklessness.
Mood changes.