Differences and similarities among girls with delinquent behaviour and girls who attempted suicide

The aim of this study was to compare clinical problems of girls who attempted suicide and girls with delinquent behaviours. One hundred girls aged 11-18 years participated in this study: 50 of them were suicide attempters, and 50 had problems of delinquent behavior. We used the Achenbach System of Empirically Based assessment. Girls who attempted suicide were more depressive/anxious, presented more somatic complaints, and were more closed/anxious. They were also more likely to have significant social difficulties. Girls with delinquent behavior had a higher social competency. These data suggest that girls who attempt suicide have more pronounced internal difficulties than delinquent girls, while externalizing behavior difficulties are not significantly different in the two groups.