Abstract
BackgroundSuicide among adults in the Korean population merits study to improve the understanding of the salient risk and protective factors because suicide rates in Korea have increased dramatically over the past 20 years. However, the association between social participation and suicidal ideation is poorly understood. Thus, this study aimed to identify the components of social participation in Korean society and to examine the processes through which the components of social participation influence the degree of suicidal ideation people experience across age groups.MethodsThis study used survey data from the 2010 Seoul Welfare Panel Study. The sample population was restricted to adults aged 20 or older and was categorised into three groups by respondents’ ages. The groups were defined as 'young adults’ (aged 20–39), 'middle-aged adults’ (aged 40–64) and 'the elderly’ (age 65 or more). Three dimensions of social participation were identified by factor analysis – friendship network and hobby group, religious involvement, and instrumental social participation.ResultsIn the young adult group, only instrumental participation was statistically significant (-0.10, p = 0.06). In the middle-aged adult group, only friendship network and hobby group had a strong association with suicidal ideation (-0.11, p = 0.01). Interestingly, for the elderly, religious involvement was related to suicidal ideation, but in a positive way (0.26, p = 0.02).ConclusionThe study results supported the theory that different components of social participation are associated with a lower risk of suicidal ideation in different stages of adulthood.
Highlights
Suicide among adults in the Korean population merits study to improve the understanding of the salient risk and protective factors because suicide rates in Korea have increased dramatically over the past 20 years
There were no notable differences in the proportions of participation in the three social participation factors between the age groups
A striking feature was the role of social participation, which was significant for all groups, but in different components when sex, marital status, household income, educational attainment, employment status, regular physical activity, smoking status, drinking status, leisure, self-esteem, social support, stress, depression and the three social participation factors were controlled for in the multiple logistic model (Table 3)
Summary
Suicide among adults in the Korean population merits study to improve the understanding of the salient risk and protective factors because suicide rates in Korea have increased dramatically over the past 20 years. This study aimed to identify the components of social participation in Korean society and to examine the processes through which the components of social participation influence the degree of suicidal ideation people experience across age groups. Suicide rates in Korea have increased dramatically while at the same time declining, on average, in most of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) member countries. In Korea, deaths from suicide in 2009 were more than double the number reported in 1999 and were the highest among the 34 member countries of the OECD [1]. Suicide is an example of an individual behaviour influenced by social integration, the extent to which the people in a society are bound together in social networks [3,4]. Individual factors and a range of social factors should be considered in attempts to explain suicide and suicidal behaviour [4]
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