Correlates of suicidal ideation and attempts among colleges students in India: A multi-state cross-sectional survey
Armstrong G., Cherian AV., Haregu T., Bilello D., Sobhana H., Deuri SP., Bhat SU., Aiman A., John S., Kannappan Y., Tesia SS., Gosh S., Kiran M.
Background: Youth suicide represents a significant public health problem in India. This paper reports on the results of a large survey examining the correlates of suicidal ideation and attempts among college students in India, adopting an ideation-to-action framework. Methods: Participants (n = 8,542) were recruited from 30 universities spanning nine states of India, and they completed a self-administered questionnaire assessing the 12-month prevalence of suicidal thoughts and attempts, symptoms of depression and anxiety, non-suicidal self-injury, exposure to suicidality in others, as well as a suite of other health and social indicators. Generalised linear models were used to examine the correlates of suicidal ideation, and the correlates of suicide attempts among ideators. Results: Just over one-in-ten (12.3 %) reported suicidal ideation in the preceding 12 months, 5.2 % reported a suicide attempt and 12.2 % reported non-suicidal self-injury. Just over one-third (34.8 %) of ideators reported a suicide attempt in the past 12 months. Higher odds of a suicide attempt among ideators were observed among those who: had bad/very bad quality family relationships, were consuming greater amounts of alcohol, had used cannabis, had been exposed to suicidal ideation in others, had been exposed to the suicide death of people they had personally known, and those who had been engaging in non-suicidal self-injury. Conclusions: Our study revealed a suite of important factors that correlate with suicidality among college students in India, and our analytical approach highlights those factors that are associated with the progression from suicidal ideation to suicide attempts.