Alcohol and substance abuse are also strong and consistent predictors of adolescent suicidal attempts and suicide. Studies with community samples of adolescents show that substance abuse is a strong predictor of suicide (Brent 1995; Shaffer et al. 1996) as well as suicide attempts (Andrews and Lewinsohn 1992), with substance use/dependence differentiating attempters and ideators (Gould et al. 1998). Wu et al. (2004) found that the association between alcohol abuse/dependence and suicide attempts was maintained even when controlling for demographic variables, psychiatric disorder (e.g., depression, anxiety, conduct disorder) and suicidal ideation.
