Suicide Connected to Family History Belmont CA
415-819-1842
San Francisco, CA
Gail P. Hunt, LCSW, BCD
510-841-3002
Berkeley, CA
Suicide Connected to Family History
Last year nearly eight million Americans considered attempting suicide--many of them young adults. Suicide rates are increasing, and several recent studies have confirmed that there's a family connection.
In a Danish study, a family history of suicide more than doubled the likelihood that a person would commit suicide. Also, when psychiatric illness that required hospitalization existed in the family, it raised the risk of suicide by about 50 percent among people who didn't have psychiatric illness.
Some other studies, including one led by Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, have also investigated this genetic link, and have identified a gene region on chromosome 2 that appears to be connected to suicidal behavior. This same area is also linked to bipolar disease, depression and alcohol dependence - all of which tend to run in families.
Other Factors that Increase Risk of Suicide
Suicide risk factors fall into three categories--personal (biological), environmental, and socio-cultural. They include:
- mental disorders such as depression and schizophrenia
- alcohol and substance abuse
- history of physical or sexual abuse
- chronic illness or physical disability
- previous suicide attempt
- financial problems
- job loss or unemployment
- grief
- isolation or no social network
- cultural beliefs (for instance, suicide is honorable)
- antidepressant use under age 25
Even if there's a family history of suicidal behavior, or you have other risk factors, it doesn't mean that you'll be affected, however. According to the International Association for Suicide Prevention (IASP), the causes of this health problem are complex and interact with each other...
