An examination of the behavior patterns of two Utah male adolescents who committed suicide: comparative case studies.

Although the literature indicates that there is a large body of professional knowledge available about adolescent suicide, the body of literature focusing on adolescent suicide indicates that very little is known about the lifelong behavior patterns of teens who commit suicide. The purpose of this beginning study was to increase the understanding of the development of behavior patterns of Utah adolescent males who commit suicide. The major research questions were the following: (a) What individual factors, environmental factors, and critical life incidents were perceived by informants as being important in the development of behavior patterns over the lifetime of two Utah male adolescents from similar backgrounds who committed suicide? (b) In what ways was behavior observed by informants approximately 6 months prior to death the same or different than behavior patterns the adolescent exhibited normally? (c) In what ways were the reported behavior patterns of the male adolescents in the study similar, and in what ways were the behavior patterns different? Two Utah male adolescents who committed suicide were studied using an exploratory, comparative case study research design. The study was limited to interview data from family members, friends, and community contacts who had had a close relationship with the deceased and who could report on their perceptions of his behavior patterns. The study was situated within a naturalistic paradigm, and the interviews were conducted within a holistically focused, chronological framework. The cases were purposively selected according to inclusion criteria and matched as closely as possible. All the participants held the deceased in high regard and were grieving his loss, which was a source of bias in the study. The major finding in the study was the perception that both youths were suffering from adolescent depression. Informants reported that the teens' depression began in puberty and was the major influence on changes in behavior patterns that were noticed approximately 6 months prior to the adolescents' deaths. The results support the need for nurses to be aware of the potential for suicide in depressed adolescents and to be vigilant for signs and symptoms of depression in adolescents with whom they have contact.