Psychological and socio-ecological correlates of 12-month suicide behavior among junior high school students in the greater Accra region of Ghana.

Autor: Azasu EK; Department of Psychiatry, Saint Louis University Medical School, 1438 S Grand Blvd, St. Louis, MO, 63104, USA. enoch.azasu@health.slu.edu., Quarshie EN; Department of Psychology, University of Ghana, Legon, Accra, Ghana., Messias E; Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience, Saint Louis University School of Medicine, St Louis, MO, USA., Larnyoh M; 37 Military Hospital Association, Accra, Ghana., Ali E; Department of Public Health, University of Health and Allied Sciences, Ho, Ghana., Joe S; Brown School of Social Work, Washington University in St Louis, St Louis, MO, USA.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: Social psychiatry and psychiatric epidemiology [Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol] 2024 Sep; Vol. 59 (9), pp. 1553-1562. Date of Electronic Publication: 2024 Feb 03.
DOI: 10.1007/s00127-024-02613-5
Abstrakt: Aim: In Ghana, we know little about the epidemiology of suicide ideation, plan and attempts among junior high school (JHS) students in Ghana including the years preceding high school. This study explores the onset, characteristics, and recent patterns of 12-month suicide behavior among Ghanaian junior high school (JHS) students.
Materials and Methods: Paper-based surveys were administered to a sample (n = 800) of junior high school students in the Greater Accra region of Ghana. Self-reported measures on suicide ideation, plan and attempt as well as several psychological and psychosocial factors related to mental health, substance use, poverty, sexual behavior, interpersonal relationships, and family structure were employed. Bi-variate, multivariate and logistic regression analyses were performed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS version 25).
Results: This study found that 1 out of 5 adolescents have experienced suicide ideation in the last 12 months. Girls had significantly higher 12-month (χ 2  = 3.5, p < 0.05) suicide ideation rates than boys. More importantly, the study found stress significantly increasing the odds of suicide behaviors in the last 12 months (β = 1.14; CI = 1.05-1.24, p < 0.05) and parental support significantly reducing the odds of suicide behaviors in the last 12 months (β = 0.86; CI = 0.81-0.91, p < 0.05). Additionally, we found significant associations between sexual intercourse, dating, hunger, substance use, suicide stigma and suicide behaviors.
Conclusion: This finding highlights a potential emerging suicide crisis among preteens which warrants attention. Additional studies are needed to observe these increasing trends and identify risk, protective and precipitating factors to help prevent suicide among these children.
(© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany.)
Databáze: MEDLINE
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