Suicidal Ideation and Non-Suicidal Self-Injury Following Early Childhood Psychotic Experiences in Preadolescent Children at Familial High Risk of Schizophrenia or Bipolar Disorder—The Danish High Risk and Resilience Study, VIA 11.

This article investigates whether early childhood psychotic experiences (PE)—defined as hallucinations and delusions without diagnosable psychotic disorder—predict suicidal ideation (SI) and non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) in middle childhood among children at familial high risk (FHR) of schizophrenia spectrum disorders (FHR-SZ), bipolar disorder (FHR-BP), and population-based controls. The longitudinal Danish High Risk and Resilience Study assessed 449 children at ages 7 and 11, finding that having two types of early childhood PE significantly increased the risk of later SI and NSSI beyond prior SI/NSSI and mental disorders, with persistent and incident PE also linked to elevated SI risk. These associations were consistent across familial risk groups and were particularly pronounced in children with early childhood mental disorders. The findings suggest that early childhood PE serve as important markers for subsequent suicidality and support including PE assessment in early mental health screenings to identify at-risk children for targeted prevention.