Profile of adolecent suicide attempters admitted in an emergency unit

Emergency Units frequently assist suicide attempts. It is important to study this phenomenon in adolescence, since this is a conflict period. This study aimed to outline an epidemiological profile of adolescents admitted in an Emergency Unit, who were diagnosed as suicide attempters. Thus, we examined the records of adolescents admitted at this Unit as suicide attempters in 2002. The results revealed that 77.8% of the cases are characterized as follows: female, predominant age range between 15 and 19 years old, single, white, student, living in neighborhoods with low purchasing power, taking medication during the day. Our findings were similar to those described in other studies and thus require special attention.