Study finds suicidal ideation and attempts high among college students

A study by researchers from NIMHANS, in collaboration with doctors from Australia, United Kingdom and some states in India, has found suicidal ideation and suicide attempts alarmingly high among college students across the country.

A study by researchers from NIMHANS, in collaboration with doctors from Australia, United Kingdom and some states in India, has found suicidal ideation and suicide attempts alarmingly high among college students across the country.

Highlighting the need for suicide prevention programmes in Indian educational institutions, the study titled ‘Correlates of suicidal ideation and attempts among colleges students in India: A multi-state cross-sectional survey’, has been published in Journal of Affective Disorders Reports on February 25.

The team of researchers recruited 8,542 students from 30 universities spanning nine states between February and September 2019. 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 other health and social indicators.

The study revealed that an alarming proportion of the students reported suicidal ideation and suicide attempts. The findings showed that 12.3% of the participants reported suicidal ideation in 12 months before the study period, and 5.2% reported a suicide attempt. Among those who reported suicidal ideation, 34.8% also reported a suicide attempt.

A higher likelihood of suicidal ideation was observed among younger students and those who were divorced or widowed, sexually active with both sexes, consuming tobacco, experiencing a number of stressful life events, and those with higher levels of anxiety symptoms. Higher levels of social support were associated with a lower likelihood of suicidal ideation, said Anish V. Cherian, Additional Professor of Psychiatric Social Work and Lead- N-SPRITE (the centre for suicide prevention at NIMHANS).

Dr. Cherian, who is the principal investigator of the study, said that among those who reported suicidal ideation, several factors were associated with suicide attempts, including having poor-quality family relationships, consuming alcohol frequently, using cannabis, being exposed to suicidal ideation in others, being exposed to the suicide death of family members or others they knew personally, and engaging in non-suicidal self-injury.

“Those aged 16–17 years were a small minority (4.8%) in our sample and our findings may point to the additional pressures placed on students who commence college before maturing to 18 years of age. The strain from divorce and widowhood has been well documented as increasing the risk of suicide, and the recency of the event presents an important time window for suicide prevention interventions.”