Suicidal Behaviors and Help-Seeking Attitudes Among Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing College Students

The objective of this study was to examine the prevalence of suicidal ideation, suicide attempts, and help-seeking attitudes among D/HH and hearing college students.

A total of 500,860 students completed the ACHA-NCHA-IIb (Fall 2011-Spring 2015). Survey administration and sampling methods differed across institutions. We randomly selected hearing students to have a 1:1 ratio of D/HH and hearing students (analytic N = 12,056). The mean age was 20.3 years, and the sample was predominantly white (68%) and female (65%). Multinomial and binary logistic regressions determined the relation between hearing status, suicide ideation and attempt, and help-seeking.

D/HH college students were more likely than hearing college students to have seriously considered suicide or attempted suicide in their lifetime. [Correction added on November 26, 2019, after first online publication: The phrase "but not in the past year" was deleted in the previous sentence.] In adjusted analyses, D/HH college students were more likely than hearing college students to have attempted suicide in the past year (OR 2.42, 95% CI 1.85, 3.17). There were no differences between D/HH and hearing groups in help-seeking attitudes.

Findings from this national data set indicate that D/HH college students are more likely to consider or attempt suicide. These results underscore the need for focused suicide risk prevention interventions with this population.