Abstract
IntroductionThe rate of suicide ideation everywhere continues to increase, and adolescents are therefore at risk of displaying suicidal behaviour. This study examined the protective role of the reasons for living and coping strategies in reducing suicidal ideation among young adolescents in Malaysia.MethodsA cross-sectional survey was conducted among 176 adolescents aged between 13 and 19 years of age with the majority being Malay and Muslim. The Brief Reasons for Living for Adolescents (BRFL-A), Jalowiec Coping Scale and Suicide Ideation Scale were employed.ResultsThe results showed that the reasons for living and palliative coping strategy correlated negatively with suicide ideation; although, further analysis using multiple regression revealed that family alliance and optimistic and palliative coping strategies were found to be significant reasons for living that protect adolescents from suicidal thoughts. Also, those adolescents who used emotive and evasive coping strategies had higher suicidal ideation.ConclusionCultural and social values continue to play an important role in protecting adolescents in Malaysia from suicidal behaviour.
Highlights
The rate of suicide ideation everywhere continues to increase, and adolescents are at risk of displaying suicidal behaviour
This is illustrated by the significant negative moderate association of all five subscales of Reasons for Living Inventory for Adolescents (RFL-A) with suicide ideation in Table 3, where adolescents were shown to have strong survival and coping beliefs, strong responsibility to their family, fear of social disapproval and strong moral and religious objections which protect them from suicidal ideas
The multiple regression analysis in this study provided a much clearer picture of the way adolescents’ coped with their suicidal ideation; where suicide ideation was positively related to evasive thoughts and emotive coping and was negatively affected by optimistic and palliative coping strategies
Summary
The rate of suicide ideation everywhere continues to increase, and adolescents are at risk of displaying suicidal behaviour. This study examined the protective role of the reasons for living and coping strategies in reducing suicidal ideation among young adolescents in Malaysia. While suicide is a very sensitive and stigmatised topic to discuss, preventive measures and early diagnosis of suicidal thoughts and behaviours can aid in reducing the number of deaths caused by suicide, especially in young adolescents. Even though researchers have attempted to examine and explain the reasons why people engage in suicidal tendencies and behaviours, there is no single causing factor. The Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) [1] ranked suicide as the third leading cause of death among adolescents aged between 15 and 19 years of age.
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