Suicidal Behavior and Psychological Distress in University Students: A 12-nation Study
Date
2016-03-08Author
Eskin, Mehmet
Sun, Jian-Min
Abuidhail, Jamila
Yoshimasu, Kouichi
Kujan, Omar
Janghorbani, Mohsen
Flood, Chris
Carta, Mauro Giovanni
Tran, Ulrich S.
Mechri, Anwar
Hamdan, Motasem
Poyrazli, Senel
Aidoudi, Khouala
Bakhshi, Seifollah
Harlak, Hacer
Moro, Maria Francesca
Nawafleh, Hani
Phillips, Louise
Shaheen, Amira
Taifour, Shahama
Tsuno, Kanami
Voracek, Martin
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
This study investigated the prevalence of suicidal behavior and psychological
distress in university students across 12 nations. A total of 5,572 university students
from 12 countries were surveyed about suicide ideation, suicide attempts, and
psychological distress by means of a self-administered questionnaire. Almost 29%
of the samples reported having contemplated suicide and 7% reported attempting
suicide. Of the total sample, 51.1% scored above the General Health
Questionnaire-12 3 cut-off points, 41.6% above the GHQ-12 4 cut-off
points, and 33.8% scored above the GHQ-12 5 cut-off points. While odds
of suicide ideation were elevated in Austria and the UK, reduced ORs were
detected for China, Italy, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, and Turkey. Similarly, while
odds of suicide attempt were high in Jordan, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, and to some
extent in Turkey, reduced ORs were observed for Austria, China, Italy, Japan
and the United States. Elevated ORs for psychological distress were seen in Japan,
Jordan, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, and Turkey but reduced ORs were
noted in Austria, China, Iran, Italy, and the United States. Psychological distress
was strongly associated with reports of suicide ideation and attempts. Suicide
ideation, suicide attempt, and psychological distress are common in university students
but their rates vary depending on the sociocultural context. Due attention
should be devoted to the mental health needs of young adults enrolled in higher
educational institutions and more cross-cultural research is warranted to better
understand the etiology of the observed intersocietal variations in suicidal
behavior and psychological distress.