Teens who change residences frequently are more likely to commit suicide, according to a new study from Denmark.

Dr. Ping Qin of Aarhus University identified 4,160 children who had attempted suicide from 1995 to 2006, and another 79 who actually killed themselves:

• Dr. Qin matched each child with another of the same sex and age who had never attempted suicide.
• Of the first group, 55 percent had changed residences more than three times, compared to 33 percent of the control group.
• Among the suicidal group, 7.4 percent had moved more than 10 times, compared to only 1.9 percent of the controls.
• Teens and pre-teens who moved six to 10 times were three times more likely to complete a suicide.

"The breakdown of connections with peers, discontinuation of group activities, distress, and worries related to the new environment are potentially psychologically distressing events for young children," the authors concluded in a report published in the journal Archives of General Psychiatry. "Frequent exposures to these events can be stressful and confusing and may affect their psychosocial well-being, thus increasing their intention toward ending their life if they are unable to cope."

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