Browsing by Subject "Itsetuhoiset ajatukset"

Suicidal and death-related speech and self-harming behavior can manifest themselves even in young children. This review briefly considered suicidal thoughts, speech and behavior of children, ages 2 to 8. The focus was on the manifestation and assessment of suicidality as well as on the risk factors related to it. One target of interest was also children’s cognitions of death and suicide. On the basis of research, suicidality in children is rare and is associated with psychiatric disorders of the child. Associations between child´s suicidality, traumatic experiences and parents’ psychopathology have also been researched but there is no consensus on the topic. Suicidality in childhood is a likely risk factor for suicidality later in life so early intervention for suicidal thoughts and self-harming behavior is crucial. More research on the topic is needed and children’s understanding of death and suicide should be considered when examining their suicidality. 2-8 years old children are an extremely heterogenic group concerning their development and assessing motives and intents behind their thoughts, speech and behavior can be extremely challenging. More information of how suicidality manifests itself in thoughts, speech and behavior of young children and compared to older children is still necessary.