# The Developmental Psychopathology of Suicidal Ideations and Cognitions in Childhood

> **NIH NIH R01** · WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY · 2021 · $682,038

## Abstract

Abstract: A marked increase in suicidal thoughts and behaviors (STB) among pre-pubertal children over the
last decade has been reported by the CDC. Death by suicide in children ages 10-14 more than doubled
between 2007 and 2014 with rates of non-lethal self-inflicted injuries doubling during the same period. Despite
these dramatic rises in STB rates, there has been little investigation of the prevalence, timing of onset, or
correlates and causes of STB or non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) in pre-pubertal children. In a longitudinal study
of preschool depression, we reported that preschool-onset STB shows stability across childhood. Outside of
case reports, there are no other published data on STB or NSSI in early childhood. Our findings, taken
together with the CDC data, support the critical need for studies of STB and NSSI that start in early childhood
to identify the predictors of STB and NSSI in middle childhood and adolescence. In a sample of 3-7 year olds
screened for a treatment study of depression we again found alarmingly high rates of NSSI (21.3%) and STB
(19.4%) at baseline. Supplemental NIMH funding was awarded to investigate the characteristics and neural
and behavioral correlates of STB and NSSI in this depressed sample, and to add age matched healthy
controls. We found both common and unique risk factors for STB and NSSI in young children, consistent with
the extant adolescent literature. Building on these findings, we propose to follow this well characterized sample
into school age and early adolescence to test developmental models of these phenomena. We will investigate
the longitudinal course, mediators and moderators, and neural correlates of early onset STB and NSSI. We will
conduct behavioral and ERP assessments at two time points, 18-months apart in our sample of N=314 who
have data from the preschool period. We will also sample the frequency, intensity, and proximal precipitants of
STB/NSSI using weekly mini-assessments (WMA). Building on preliminary findings, we will use ERPs to test
hypotheses about RDoC constructs that map to the risk factors that may contribute to STB and NSSI, including
responses to negative and positive feedback to reward, errors, and peer rejection. We will test specific
hypotheses about both shared risk factors for NSSI and STB (greater depression, peer rejection, adverse life
events, and harsh parenting, as well as stronger ERP responses to loss and peer rejection, and blunted ERP
responses to wins and social acceptance) as well as risk factors that may be more selective for NSSI (greater
shame, irritability, self-criticism and higher pain tolerance) versus STB (reduced belongingness, greater
hopelessness and a family history of suicide). Given the young age of the ascertained sample at baseline, we
also have the opportunity to investigate differences in risk as a function of developmental stage. The proposed
study provides an unprecedented opportunity to follow the largest ever sample of young childr...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10112758
- **Project number:** 5R01MH117436-03
- **Recipient organization:** WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Deanna Barch
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $682,038
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2019-05-15 → 2024-02-29

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10112758

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10112758, The Developmental Psychopathology of Suicidal Ideations and Cognitions in Childhood (5R01MH117436-03). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-06-11 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10112758. Licensed CC0.

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