Suicide attempt in teenagers: associated factors

Abstract

Attempted suicide is the main risk factor for completed suicides.

Objective: To analyze the prevalence of attempted suicide in junior high school and high school students in Mexico City, and its associated factors.

Subjects and Method: Observational, cross-sectional and descriptive study conducted with data from the Mexico National Survey on Drug Use Among Students (ENCODE) 2012. The validated survey was anonymous, structured and self-applied, and contains seven sections: Sociodemographic; Tobacco, alcohol and drug use; Problems related to drug use; Antisocial behavior; Social sphere; Interpersonal sphere and Personal sphere. Family atmosphere, communication with parents, and self-esteem indexes were created using principal component analysis. A binomial logistic regression model was adjusted, and the odds ratio (OR) were analyzed.

Results: The estimated prevalence of attempted suicide was 6.8%. The factors that increased the attempted suicide possibility were: being a woman (OR 3.1), be under 16 years old (OR 1.6), living in an unfavorable family atmosphere (OR 1.5) or having a poor communication with parents (OR 1.8), having low self-esteem (OR 1.9), behavioral or learning problems (OR 1.4) or suffering a mental illness (OR 3.6); having been forced into sexual contact (OR 2.6); or drugs use, smoking or alcohol consumption (OR 1.7, 1.2 and 1.7).

Conclusions: The attempted suicide prevention should be focused on women younger than 16 years, with any psychiatric disorder, behavioral problem or low self-esteem, who live in an unfavorable family atmosphere, with risky behavior such as smoking, or alcohol or drugs consumption, or who have been forced into sexual contact.