Self-Esteem in Adolescent Suicide Attempters: A Cross- Sectional Comparative Study

Cherif L, Ayadi H, Kammoun W, Khemakhem K, Hadjkacem I, Rekik N and Moalla Y

Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Hedi Chaker Hospital, University of Sfax, Tunisia
Department of Emergency, Habib Bourguiba Hospital, Tunisia

^*Correspondance to: Kammoun Wiem 

 PDF  Full Text DOI: 10.25107/2474-1647.2657

Abstract

Objectives: The objective was to assess the self-esteem in adolescent suicide attempters. Methods: A cross-sectional comparative study was conducted on two groups of adolescents matched on age, sex and socioeconomic status, during a period of 8 months (April-November 2010). The first group included 30 adolescents admitted to the emergency department of Habib Bourguiba Sfax Hospital for suicide attempts. The second group included 30 adolescents examined in a community clinic in Sfax for a benign acute medical condition. The two groups underwent a semi-structured interview based on the DSM-IV-TR criteria, conducted by a child and adolescent psychiatrist. All adolescents completed the Coopersmith Self Esteem Inventory. Results: In the group of suicide attempters, low self-esteem was noted in 83.3% of cases. In contrast, only 42.85% of cases in the control group had shown a low self-esteem. The suicide attempters group scored significantly lower on all self-esteem subscales as compared to control (p=0.000). This suggests that persons with low self-esteem are much more vulnerable to suicidal indulgence than the persons with higher self- esteem. Conclusion: Hence, these findings extend the role of self-esteem in predicting suicidal ideation among adolescents in the Tunisian context, which highlights the importance of self-esteem assessment to identify adolescents at risk and to prevent the recurrence of suicide attempts.

Keywords

Suicide attempts; Adolescent; Self-esteem

Cite the article

Cherif L, Ayadi H, Kammoun W, Khemakhem K, Hadjkacem I, Rekik N, et al. Self-Esteem in Adolescent Suicide Attempters: A Cross-Sectional Comparative Study. Clin Surg. 2019; 4: 2657..