Secondary Prevention of Attempted Suicide in Adolescence.

Abstract Patients discharge from hospital following a suicide attempt were randomly allocated to either: (1) a treatment group receiving standard management plus a token allowing re-admission to hospital on demand; or (2) a control group receiving standard management only. The rates of further suicide attempts and the use of the token in the year following the initial attempt were monitored. Of the 47 adolescents who were allocated tokens, only three (6%) made further suicide attempts in the following year, and five (11%) made use of their tokens to gain admission into hospital. In the control group of 58 adolescents, seven (12%) made further suicide attempts. Although the differences between the groups did not reach the level of statistical significance, the results do suggest lower rates of repeat suicide attempts in the group which received the token, even if it was not used. A clinical assessment of the seriousness of the risk at the time of the first suicide attempt was predictive for later attempts ( p =0·01).