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Published on: May 19, 2015
Suicide ideation and psychosocial distress in sub-Saharan African youth
1Department of Health Science, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT 84602, USA. randy_page@byu.edu
Objectives:
To determine if there is an association between psychosocial distress, health-risk behaviors and 12-month suicidal ideation among sub-Saharan African adolescents.
Methods:
Subjects included a cross-national sample of adolescents (N = 25,568) representing 7 African countries who completed the Global School-based Student Health Survey (GSHS).
Results:
Students with 3-4 psychosocial distress indicators were 4-5 times more likely to report suicide ideation or having made a suicide plan, and those with 4-5 risky health behaviors were 2.5-3.5 times more likely.
Conclusions:
Interventions designed to identify African adolescents with cumulative psychosocial distress indicators and risky health behaviors have potential as effective suicide prevention strategies.
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