Features of suicidal behavior in childhood

The PubMed database has been searched for publications on suicides committed by children primarily under 12 years of age. Based on the analysis of the found material, a justification is given for the increased research interest from the point of view of the genetics of suicide in children under the age of 12. It is emphasized that these children do not yet have clinically significant mental disorders, social and economic problems, which are a priori considered to be the cause of suicide in adults. From the literature studied, it follows that in many countries of the world, especially developed and economically prosperous ones, in recent years the number of child suicides in the age group under 14 has been increasing, while among adults aged 20 and older the number of suicides has been decreasing. The issues of family inheritance of suicidal behavior (SB) are considered. It is noted that in the population of children who have experienced parental suicide, suicides are committed more often and earlier than by their peers. Inheritance of SB occurs to a greater extent on the maternal side, and suicides are more often committed by boys. A comparison of SB and suicide in children under 12 years of age and adults showed that they generally do not differ among suicide victims of the compared groups. In both populations, there is a predominance of suicides among males and a set of suicide methods used that is identical in frequency. It is obvious that SB in children under 12 is heritable and manifests itself early in the form of more aggressive behavior, self-harming behavior, and expression of suicidal thoughts. Children commit suicide, as a rule, without a visible reason or warning; the reason is often momentary and insignificant, discovered by adult’s post factum when trying to explain the cause of suicide. It is concluded that SB and suicides under the age of 12 are presumably realized as a result of an inherited unconscious imperative aimed at selfaggression.