Two case reports of intentional intoxication among adolescents

Abstract

Intentional intoxication may stem from a situation of anguish and conflict, and is often characterized by suicide attempts, for which adolescence is the most vulnerable phase. This study looks at the possible causes behind suicide attempts by adolescents who received care at a public hospital, in the city of Fortaleza, Ceará State, Brazil. This is a convergent-assistential study, undertaken between February and April of 2005. The subjects were two adolescents admitted to the hospital’s emergency ward due to intentional intoxication. The data collection was by means of semi-structured interviews, participative observations and field diary annotations. The results of this study point to some possible causes, such as affective losses, and the family structure seemed to play an influencing role in terms of the thought process and execution behind the suicide attempts. The family processes, which bring about changes in feelings such as sadness, abandonment and others, function as risk factors for a suicide attempt. Therefore, it is essential that family members, health professionals, educators and others, as well as society in general, pay attention to adolescent phases by analyzing biological, psychodynamic, family and social components, always seeking to act in a “foreseeable” manner against suicide attempts during this phase of the life cycle.