Massimiliano Orri

McGill University | McGill · McGill Group for Suicide Studies - Department of Psychiatry

Background: A higher risk of suicidal ideation associated with self-report of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)-like symptoms or COVID-19 infection has been observed in cross-sectional studies, but evidence from longitudinal studies remains limited. The aims of this study were 2-fold: (1) to explore if self-reported COVID-19-like symptoms in 202...

Objective: To investigate prospective associations between type of child abuse (physical, sexual, both), timing (childhood, young adulthood, both), and welfare receipt into middle-age. Methods: Database linkage study using the Quebec Longitudinal Study of Kindergarten Children cohort born in 1980 and government administrative databases (N = 3020...

Introduction: Child sexual abuse remains a worldwide concern with devastating consequences on an individual's life. This longitudinal study investigates the associations between child sexual abuse (official reports versus retrospective self-reports) and subgroups by perpetrator identity (intrafamilial and extrafamilial), severity (penetration/atte...

Objectives: The COVID-19 pandemic has been associated with increased mental health problems. We investigated (1) associations between disordered eating in adolescence and mental health problems after one year of the pandemic and (2) the mechanisms explaining associations. Method: We analyzed data from a population-based birth cohort in Quebec, C...

Child and adolescent mental health (CAMH) are a global priority. Different countries across the globe face unique challenges in CAMH services that are specific to them. However, there are multiple issues that are also similar across countries. These issues have been presented in this commentary from the lens of early career CAMH professionals who a...

We thank Wen-Wang Rao and colleagues for their interest and comments on our research article published in The Lancet Psychiatry. As pointed out by Rao and colleagues, we failed to include the article by Chiang and colleagues in our review. However, the prevalence of suicidal ideation reported for fourth grade children (aged 9–10 years old) aligns p...

Introduction The COVID-19 pandemic seems associated with a worsening in mental health issues as well as a widening of pre-existing social and health inequalities. Assessment of its impact on suicidal behavior might therefore be relevant. Objectives To assess factors associated with suicidal ideation in the general population, using data from the F...

We assessed the psychometric properties of the Social Behavior Questionnaire (SBQ), a 30-item questionnaire evaluating social (e.g., disruptive behaviors, bullying) and emotional problems (e.g., anxiety, depression) among children aged 3.5–12 years. Children ( n = 1,950, 50.21% boys) were drawn from the Quebec Longitudinal Study of Child Developmen...

Symptomatic COVID-19 appears to be associated with suicidal ideation but longitudinal evidence is still scarce. SARS-CoV2-induced neurological damages might underline this association, but findings are inconsistent. We therefore investigated the association between COVID-19 disease and subsequent suicidal ideation in the general population, using b...

Purpose: The aim of this study was to (1) investigate the association of parental death and illness with suicidal ideation using a large sample of university students and (2) test whether associations were moderated by perceived family support. Methods: We used data from N = 15,008 French university students enrolled in the i-Share cohort (mean...

Background Suicide in children is a pressing public health concern. The increasing number of deaths by suicide and emergency visits for suicidal ideation and self-harm in children might not be fully representative; it is likely that many more children are in distress but do not seek out help. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of ex...

Background Reports on longitudinal trends in mental health-related (MHR) emergency department (ED) utilization spanning the pre- and post-pandemic periods are lacking, along with evidence comparing healthcare services utilization by sociodemographic subgroups. The aim of this study was to evaluate COVID-19-associated changes in MHR ED utilization a...

Background Reports on longitudinal trends in mental health–related (MHR) emergency department (ED) utilization spanning the pre- and post-pandemic periods are lacking, along with evidence comparing healthcare services utilization by sociodemographic subgroups. The aim of this study was to evaluate COVID-19–associated changes in MHR ED utilization a...

Background Although early life factors are associated with increased suicide risk in youth, there is a dearth of research on these associations for individuals growing up in disadvantaged socioeconomic contexts, particularly in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). We documented the association between individual, familial, and environmental fa...

Past research has demonstrated associations between parental personality traits and children's behaviour. However, fathers have been largely excluded from this research, and mothers often rate both their own personality and their child's behaviour, contributing to shared method variance. This study contributes to the literature by examining associa...

The period at the start of treatment of adolescents with depression is both crucial and complex. Adolescents’ and parents’ perspectives on that early-treatment stage are important but have not yet been explored. The present study explores the lived experience of the early-treatment stage among adolescents with major depressive disorder and their pa...

Human capital—that is the cumulative abilities, education, social skills, and mental and physical health one possesses—is increasingly recognized as key to the reduction of inequality in societies. Adverse childhood experiences have been linked to a range of human capital indicators, with the majority of research in high-income, western settings. T...

The comorbidity between physical and mental health conditions is challenging and frequently goes unrecognized in practice. Associations between Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and physical conditions have been reported in youth. However, prior research failed to: (1) address the patterns of associations in early childhood, middle ch...

Importance: Individuals who have been sexually abused are at a greater risk for poor health, but associations with economic outcomes in mid-life have been overlooked. Objectives: We investigated associations between child sexual abuse (≤18 years) and economic outcomes at 33-37 years, while considering type of report (official/retrospective) and cha...

Summary Background Suicide in children is a pressing public health concern. The increasing number of deaths by suicide and emergency visits for suicidal ideation and self-harm in children might not be fully representative; it is likely that many more children are in distress but do not seek out help. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analys...

Objective: Together with family factors, early care and education (ECE) services were shown to improve school readiness in kindergarten. However, it is not clear whether better school readiness at age 6 years translates into higher rates of high school graduation years later. Our objective was therefore to investigate the long-term associations be...

Background Peer victimization is associated with a wide range of mental health problems in youth, yet few studies described its association with mental health comorbidities. Methods To test the association between peer victimization timing and intensity and mental health comorbidities, we used data from 1216 participants drawn from the Quebec Long...

Background Youth who attempt suicide are more at risk for later mental disorders and suicide. However, little is known about their long-term socioeconomic outcomes. Aims We investigated associations between youth suicide attempts and adult economic and social outcomes. Method Participants were drawn from the Quebec Longitudinal Study of Kindergar...

Background Concerns have been raised that the COVID-19 pandemic could increase risk for adverse mental health outcomes, especially in young adults, a vulnerable age group. We investigated changes in depression and anxiety symptoms (overall and severe) from before to during the pandemic, as well as whether these changes are linked to COVID-19-relate...

Use of substances such as cannabis, alcohol, and tobacco, has been associated with increased risk of suicide attempt in several observational studies. However, establishing whether these associations are causal is challenging when using observational designs. To evaluate the potential causal contributions of cannabis use, alcohol use, and tobacco s...

Background Although several studies explored the association between ADHD and suicidality in the pediatric population, there is a lack of studies focusing on adults. It is particularly unclear whether comorbid mood disorders confer an increased risk of suicidal ideation and attempt among individuals with high ADHD symptoms. Methods Participants we...

Objective Despite their essential role during this health crisis, little is known about the psychological distress of mental health workers (MHW). Method A total of 616 MHW and 658 workers from the general population (GP) completed an online survey including depressive, anxiety, irritability, loneliness, and resilience measures. Results Overall,...

Importance Few studies from low-and-middle income countries have investigated long-term associations between maternal postnatal depression and offspring internalizing (ie, depressive and anxiety) symptoms, and none have investigated interactions in this association. Objective To investigate the association between maternal postnatal depression and...

This study investigates, using an online self-report questionnaire, adolescents’ emotional reactions during the lockdown in a sample of 2105 secondary school students (aged 14–19) in Italy, Romania, and Croatia. We used a self-reported online questionnaire (answers on a 5-point scale or binary), composed of 73 questions investigating the opinions,...

Background Childhood maltreatment and peer victimization are major risk factors for depression and suicidal behavior. Furthermore, childhood maltreatment increases the risk of peer victimization. Our objective was to distinguish between the contributions of parental maltreatment and peer victimization to the development of mental health problems in...

Background We aimed to first, estimate the association of early childhood out-of-home placement with adult income and reliance on social welfare, and second, to test whether, and to what extent, mental health problems in adolescence/young adulthood and primary school grade point average (GPA) explain these associations. Method We used linked regis...

Background While childhood externalizing, internalizing and comorbid problems have been associated with suicidal risk, little is known about their specific associations with suicidal ideation and attempts. We examined associations between childhood externalizing, internalizing and comorbid problems and suicidal ideation (without attempts) and attem...

Suicidal thoughts and behaviours are prevalent among college students. Yet little is known about screening tools to identify students at higher risk. We aimed to develop a risk algorithm to identify the main predictors of suicidal thoughts and behaviours among college students within one-year of baseline assessment. We used data collected in 2013–2...

Aims Low birth weight is associated with adult mental health, cognitive, and socioeconomic problems. However, the causal nature of these associations remains difficult to establish due to confounding. We aimed to estimate the contribution of birth weight to adult mental health, cognitive, and socioeconomic outcomes using two-sample Mendelian random...

Substance abuse is a significant public health concern that disproportionately burdens males and low-income communities. This study examined (1) longitudinal profiles of male adolescent poly-substance use and (2) their association with social and economic participation across early adulthood. Drawing on a cohort of males (n = 890) from low-income n...

Purpose The Quebec Longitudinal Study of Child Development (QLSCD) was designed to examine the long-term associations of preschool physical, cognitive, social, and emotional development with biopsychosocial development across childhood, adolescence, and young adulthood. Methods QLSCD is an ongoing prospective cohort including 2120 singletons born...

Background Concerns have been raised that the Covid-19 pandemic could increase risk for poor mental health, especially in young adults, a vulnerable age group. We investigated changes in depression and anxiety symptoms (overall and severe) from before to during the pandemic, as well as whether these changes are linked to Covid-19 related stressors...

Background: Irritable children are at increased risk of suicidal ideation and suicide attempt, but the underlying environmental mechanisms accounting for these associations are largely unknown. We aimed to investigate the mediating role of peer victimization and harsh parenting in the association between childhood irritability and adolescent suici...

Importance Although longitudinal studies have reported associations between early life factors (ie, in-utero/perinatal/infancy) and long-term suicidal behavior, they have concentrated on 1 or few selected factors, and established associations, but did not investigate if early-life factors predict suicidal behavior. Objective To identify and evalua...

Maternal smoking is associated with increased risk of smoking in the offspring. However, it remains unclear whether this association depends on the timing of exposure to maternal smoking. We investigated the association between prenatal and/or postnatal maternal smoking and offspring smoking during adolescence. Participants (N = 1661) were from the...

Background Child maltreatment and peer victimization are known to be major risk factors for depression and suicidal behavior. Furthermore, child maltreatment increases the risk for victimization by peers. Our objective was to distinguish the contribution of maltreatment by parents and peer victimization to mental health problems in young adulthood....

Background Low birth weight is associated with adult mental health, cognitive and socioeconomic problems. However, the causal nature of these associations remains difficult to establish owing to confounding. Aims To estimate the contribution of birth weight to adult mental health, cognitive and socioeconomic outcomes using two-sample Mendelian ran...

Suicidal thoughts and behaviors are prevalent among college students. Yet little is known about screening tools to identify students at higher risk. We aimed to develop a risk algorithm to identify the main predictors of suicidal thoughts and behaviors among college students within one-year of baseline assessment. We used data collected in 2013–201...

Background Few studies investigated the association between maternal smoking during pregnancy and offspring suicide risk, none considering postnatal smoking exposure. We investigated associations between maternal smoking patterns during the pre- and post-natal periods and adolescent suicidal ideation and attempt. Methods We identified longitudinal...

We examined whether adolescents’ loneliness and social withdrawal mediated the association between maternal depressive symptoms and adolescent suicidality. Secondary analyses on the Québec Longitudinal Study of Child Development data were conducted ( n = 1,623). Each mother completed the Centre for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (at child a...

Background Maternal diet quality during pregnancy has been linked to offspring's physical and mental health outcomes across the lifespan. However, few studies have examined its association with subsequent offspring's anxiety and depression issues. Objectives The objective of the study was to examine the relationship between maternal prenatal dieta...

Background. Documenting current trends and sources of variation in youth suicide rates is critical to inform prevention strategies. We aimed to document suicide mortality trends among Italian youth from 1981 to 2016 and to describe age-, gender- and urbanization-specific suicide rates. Methods. We used official mortality data for the period 1981–20...

Background: We aimed to identify groups of children presenting distinct perinatal adversity profiles and test the association between profiles and later risk of suicide attempt. Methods: Data were from the Québec Longitudinal Study of Child Development (QLSCD, N = 1623), and the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC, N = 5734)....

Purpose Despite the emergence of a growing qualitative literature about the personal recovery process in mental disorders, this topic remains little understood in anorexia nervosa (AN), especially severe AN during adolescence. This cases series is a first step that aims to understand recovery after severe AN among adolescents in France, from a firs...

The association between Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and suicidal ideation has been the focus of recent research interest among youths and young adults. However, the role perceived stress plays in this association is unclear. We investigated whether perceived stress accounts for the association between ADHD and subsequent suicida...

Aims: The aim of this study was to monitor the trajectories of antidepressant use during pregnancy and the postpartum period among women chronically treated with antidepressants before their pregnancy, and to assess characteristics associated with each trajectory. Methods: This cohort study included all pregnant women whose data were included in...

Objectives: To test associations between onset of formal child care (in infancy or as a toddler), high school graduation, and employment earnings from ages 18 to 35 years. Methods: A 30-year prospective cohort follow-up study, with linkage to government administrative databases (N =3020). Exposure included formal child care, if any, by accredite...

Background: Obtaining recent estimates of the prevalence of suicide-related outcomes across adolescence and its associated mental health problems (MHPs) is important for clinical practice. We estimated the prevalence of suicide-related outcomes at ages 13, 15, 17, and 20 years (2011-2018) in a contemporary population-based cohort and documented as...

Background: Irritability is frequently comorbid with ADHD. Although irritability alone has been linked to deleterious mental health and adaptive issues, the joint developmental course of ADHD and irritability symptoms during childhood as well as its association with later mental health and suicidal outcomes is not fully understood. We aimed to des...

Background To clarify the direction of the association between frequency of cannabis use, depressive symptoms and suicidal ideation from 15 to 20 years using cross-lagged analyses. Method We included 1606 adolescents from the province of Québec followed since 1997 with information on frequency of cannabis use (none/monthly/weekly), depression (def...

Objective: To estimate the association between ADHD symptoms and suicidal ideation in college students, and to test mediation by depressive symptoms or self-esteem. Method: Based on the i-Share cohort (prospective cohort of 2,331 college students in France). Self-reported measures included ADHD symptoms at baseline, self-esteem and depressive sympt...

Background Suicide is a leading cause of mortality in youth, yet the course of suicide attempts is poorly documented. We explored the vulnerable transition from adolescence to emerging adulthood to identify group trajectories and risk factors. Methods The National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth is a prospective representative cohort of...

Objectives: To describe (1) the developmental trajectories of peer victimization from 6 to 17 years of age and (2) the early childhood behaviors and family characteristics associated with the trajectories. Methods: We used data from 1760 children enrolled in the Quebec Longitudinal Study of Child Development, a population-based birth cohort. Par...

Background: Cross-sectional associations have been documented between cybervictimization and suicidal risk; however, prospective associations remain unclear. Methods: Participants were members of the Quebec Longitudinal Study of Child Development (QLSCD), a prospective birth cohort of 2,120 individuals followed from birth (1997/98) to age 17 yea...

Hyperactive/inattentive symptoms (ADHD symptoms) are associated with suicidal behavior in clinical studies, but there is still a lack of population-based longitudinal investigations on the developmental aspects of this association. Additionally, it is unclear whether the association is similar for boys and girls. The objectives of the study were to...

Background: Childhood internalizing symptoms can be associated with adolescent internalizing symptoms, but only a small proportion of symptomatic children are at long-term risk. Our objectives were to (1) distinguish between typical and atypical levels of internalizing symptoms using mother- and teacher-assessments and (2) test the association betw...

Background: Population-based and family studies showed that impulsive-aggression predicts suicidality; however, the underlying etiological nature of this association is poorly understood. The objective was to determine the contribution of genes and environment to the association between childhood impulsive-aggression and serious suicidal ideation/...

Background Poor cognitive abilities and low intellectual quotient (IQ) are associated with an increased risk of suicide attempts and suicide mortality. However, knowledge of how this association develops across the life-course is limited. Our study aims to establish whether individuals who died by suicide by mid-adulthood are distinguishable by the...

Background: Therapeutic alliance is one of the most important aspects of treatment of adolescents with anorexia nervosa. Little is known about the facilitators and obstacles of its process in this situation. We aimed to explore the experience of therapeutic alliance in inpatient treatment among adolescents with anorexia nervosa, their parents and...

Nurses in hospital dermatology departments must increasingly provide care for patients with skin cancer. Although the experience of oncology nurses in numerous specialties has been widely explored, no study has focused on the experience of nurses in dermatologic oncology. We aimed to explore how nurses experience their care for patients with skin c...

The objective of this study was to use secondary data from the Preparing for Life (PFL) trial to test (1) the impact of a prenatal-to-age-five intervention targeting women from a disadvantaged Irish community on the quality of the home environment; (2) whether any identified changes in the home environment explain the positive effects of the PFL pr...

Background Child‐care services during early childhood provide opportunities for social interactions that may facilitate children's learning of acceptable social behaviors. Furthermore, they may reduce exposure to family adversity for some children. The aim of this study was to determine whether intensity of exposure to child‐care services prior to...

Background: Adverse in-utero and perinatal conditions might contribute to an increased suicide risk throughout the lifespan; however, existing evidence is sparse and contradictory. We aimed to investigate in-utero and perinatal exposures associated with suicide, suicide attempt, and suicidal ideation. Methods: We did a systematic review and meta...