Suicidal ideation and suicide attempts among students aged 12 to 24 after the lifting of COVID-19 restrictions in China: prevalence and associated factors

Qing-Qing Xiao; Xue-Hua Huang; Jing Yang; Yun-Fei Mu; Cong Wang; Zhong-Yue Deng; Jia Cai; Ai-Ping Deng; Wan-Jie Tang; Xia-Can Chen; Wei Shi; Yi Jiang; Jia-Jun Xu; Li Yin; Yi Huang; Wei Zhang; Mao-Sheng Ran

doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2024.1383992

Suicidal ideation and suicide attempts among students aged 12 to 24 after the lifting of COVID-19 restrictions in China: prevalence and associated factors

Front Psychiatry. 2024 Jun 18:15:1383992. doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2024.1383992. eCollection 2024.

Authors

Qing-Qing Xiao^{1

2}, Xue-Hua Huang^{1

2}, Jing Yang^{1

2}, Yun-Fei Mu^{1

3}, Cong Wang^{1

3}, Zhong-Yue Deng^{1

3}, Jia Cai¹, Ai-Ping Deng², Wan-Jie Tang¹, Xia-Can Chen⁴, Wei Shi⁵, Yi Jiang⁶, Jia-Jun Xu¹, Li Yin¹, Yi Huang¹, Wei Zhang¹, Mao-Sheng Ran^{1

3}

Affiliations

¹ Mental Health Center, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China.
² West China School of Nursing, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China.
³ Institute of Psychiatry, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China.
⁴ Institute of Forensic Medicine, West China School of Basic Medical Sciences and Forensic Medicine, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China.
⁵ Institute for Disaster Management and Reconstruction, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China.
⁶ Department of Neurology, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China.

Abstract

Objective: To investigate the prevalence and associated factors of suicidal ideation and suicide attempts among adolescent and young adults in China from December 14, 2022 to February 28, 2023, when COVID-19 restrictions were lifted.

Methods: Students in middle and high schools and colleges and universities in the province of Sichuan, China were asked to complete on-line cross-sectional surveys. Information was collected about sociodemographics, experiences related to the COVID-19 pandemic, suicidal ideation and suicide attempts. Participants also filled out the Patient Health Questionnaire-9, the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 and the Social Support Rate Scale surveys. Factors associated with suicidal ideation or suicide attempts were explored using logistic regression.

Results: Of the 82,873 respondents (aged 12 to 24 years), 21,292 (25.7%) reported having thought of suicide at least once in their lifetime, 10,382 (12.5%) reported having thought about suicide within the previous 12 months, and 1,123 (1.4%) reported having attempted it within the previous 12 months. Risk of lifetime suicidal ideation was higher among middle school students than among older students. Risk of suicidal ideation and risk of suicide attempts correlated directly with severity of symptoms of depression and anxiety, and inversely with level of social support. Greater risk of suicidal ideation and suicidal attempts was associated with: being female, living in an urban environment, attending a boarding school, currently being in love, having parents who divorced or remarried, having parents who exhibit non-authoritative parenting behavior, having higher family income, having been COVID-19 infected, having been quarantined for a long time, and being dissatisfied with one's education.

Conclusions: Suicidal ideation and suicide attempts remain prevalent among young people in China. The potential associated factors identified in our study may be useful for targeting appropriate psychosocial interventions and developing mental health policies.

Keywords: adolescent and young adults; associated factors; lifting of COVID-19 restrictions; prevalence; suicidal ideation; suicide attempts.

Grants and funding

The author(s) declare financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. This study was supported by Initial Research Fund in West China Hospital (WCH, No: 136220012, PI: Prof. M-SR).