Risk Factors of Suicide Attempt among Adolescents with Suicide Ideation in Low- and Middle-Income Countries across the Globe

Abstract

Suicide is a serious public health problem for adolescents. Based on the framework of ideation-to-action, it is important to examine the factors associated with the translation from suicide ideation to suicide attempt. The present study aimed to investigate the risk factors of suicide attempts among adolescents with suicide ideation in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs). We analyzed data of students aged 12–18 years who participated in the 2009–2013 Global School-based Health Surveys (GSHS) in 39 LMICs. The Chi-square test was used to compare the prevalence of suicide attempts among participants with suicide ideation, the multilevel logistic regression model was used to identify significant factors associated with suicide attempts among suicide ideators. Among 22,655 adolescents with suicide ideation, 55.1% of them reported having made a suicide attempt in the past year. Loneliness, anxiety, alcohol use, and drug use were risk factors for suicide attempts among suicide ideators. Strategies should be implemented to reduce the likelihood of adolescents acting on their suicidal thoughts, such as community psychological crisis line, school-based mental health and skills training programs, and family support for adolescents with psychological problems.