ETUDE RECHERCHE Violence victimization and suicide attempts among adolescents aged 12–15 years from thirty-eight low- and middle-income countries

Violence victimization and suicide attempts among adolescents aged 12–15 years from thirty-eight low- and middle-income countries

Lee Smith ^a Daragh Mc Dermott ^b Louis Jacob ^cd Yvonne Barnett ^eLaurie Butler ^f Jae Il Shin ^g Ai Koyanagi ^dh

^a The Cambridge Centre for Sport and Exercise Science, Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge CB1 1PT, UK
^b School of Psychology and Sport Science, Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge CB1 1PT, UK
^c Faculty of Medicine, University of Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, Montigny-le-Bretonneux 78180, France
^d Research and Development Unit, Parc Sanitari Sant Joan de Déu, CIBERSAM, Dr. Antoni Pujadas, 42, Sant Boi de Llobregat, Barcelona 08830, Spain
^e Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge CB1 1PT, UK
^f Faculty of Science and Engineering, Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge CB1 1PT, UK
 ^g Department of Pediatrics, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea
^h ICREA, Pg. Lluis Companys 23, 08010 Barcelona, Spain

General Hospital Psychiatry Volume 66, September–October 2020, Pages 147-153

Received 7 May 2020, Revised 11 August 2020, Accepted 13 August 2020, Available online 22 August 2020.

Abstract

Objective

The association between violence victimization and suicide attempts in a large representative sample of adolescents from low- and middle-income-countries (LMICs) of multiple continents has never been investigated. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to examine the relationship between being a victim of physical attacks (independent variable) and suicide attempts (dependent variable) in a sample of 117,472 students aged 12–15 years [mean (SD) age 13.8 (0.9) years; girls 49.4%] from thirty-eight LMICs in Africa, the Americas, and Asia.

Methods

Cross-sectional data from the Global School-based Student Health Survey (GSHS) were analyzed. Self-reported data on past 12-month suicide attempts and exposure to physical attacks were collected. Logistic regression and meta-analysis were conducted.

Results

The overall prevalence of suicide attempts and physical attacks were 10.1% and 39.4%, respectively. Overall, the results of the meta-analysis based on country-wise estimates adjusted for potential confounders (i.e., age, sex, food insecurity, alcohol consumption, bullying victimization, anxiety-induced sleep problems, low parental support/involvement, loneliness) showed that physical attacks were associated with a 1.71 (95%CI = 1.62–1.81) times higher odds for suicide attempt.

Conclusions

In this large sample of adolescents from multiple LMICs, violence victimization was associated with significantly increased odds of suicide attempts. Future longitudinal studies are required to assess causality, and whether addressing exposure to violence can positively impact on adolescent suicide rates.

Keywords Suicide Violence Adolescents Low- and middle-income countries Epidemiology

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0163834320301183?via%3Dihub