Early adolescence and suicidal ideations in Croatia: sociodemographic, behavioral, and psychometric correlates

Suicidal ideations (SI) indicate and predict psychological distress. We examined the prevalence of SI among early adolescents and its association with parental war participation, personal, behavioral, and sociodemographic characteristics.

We performed a cross-sectional questionnaire study on 803 12-year-old adolescents. Data were collected using a sociodemographic questionnaire, the Junior Eysenck Personality Questionnaire and Children Depression Inventory. Unintentional injuries, physical fighting, and involvement in bullying behavior were assessed using questions from the World Health Organization (WHO) survey Health Behavior in School-aged Children. Suicidal ideations were assessed with three dichotomous items.

There were no gender differences in SI prevalence. SI in males were associated with lower maternal education, crowded families, birth order, parental war participation, physical fighting, being bullied, and substance use. In females, we found associations with lower parental educational level, number of brothers, lower perception of the relationship with parents, parental relationship, family cohesion and parental control, negative attitude toward school, rare church attendance, fighting, and being bully or bullied. Depressive symptoms and SI were associated in both genders.

SI showed gender-specific associations that may partially be explained with parental war involvement. These findings may have potentially important clinical and preventive implications.