Abstract
The study aims to investigate the risk factors and gender differences for suicide attempts among adolescents in Bolivia. This research involved a secondary analysis of the 2018 Bolivia cross-sectional Global School-Based Student Health Survey. The sample included 7,931 school adolescents (49.7% females and 50.3% males), and the mean age was 15.5 years (SD = 1.6) (age range = 11 years to = 18 years). In all, 21.4% of participants had attempted suicide in the last 12 months, 25.7% among females, and 17.5% among males. In adjusted logistic regression analysis, specifically among males, lifetime amphetamine use (AOR: 3.16, 95% CI: 1.28, 7.78), being physically attacked (AOR: 1.36, 95% CI: 1.00, 1.84), bullied (AOR: 1.87, 95% CI: 1.51, 2.32), and experiencing psychological distress (AOR: 2.69, 95% CI: 2.04, 3.54) increased the odds of past 12-month suicide attempts. In adjusted logistic regression analysis, specifically among females, current alcohol use (AOR: 1.78, 95% CI: 1.30, 2.42), current cannabis use (AOR: 1.98, 95% CI: 1.06, 3.67), being physically attacked (AOR: 2.04, 95% CI: 1.46, 2.85), being in a physical fight (AOR: 1.61, 95% CI: 1.24, 2.10), injury (AOR: 1.38, 95% CI: 1.10, 1.75), and experiencing psychological distress (AOR: 3.02, 95% CI: 2.44, 3.73) increased the odds of past 12-month suicide attempts. More than one in five students (one in four females) had attempted suicide in the last 12 months in Bolivia. Several general and gender-specific factors were identified to increase the odds of suicide attempts, which can assist in designing suicide prevention in this adolescent population.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 189-195 |
| Number of pages | 7 |
| Journal | International Journal on Disability and Human Development |
| Volume | 22 |
| Issue number | 2 |
| Early online date | 1 Jan 2023 |
| Publication status | Published online - 1 Jan 2023 |
Data Access Statement
This paper uses data from the Global School-Based Student Health Survey (GSHS). GSHS is supported by the World Health Organization and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Funding
The authors have stated all possible conflicts of interest within this work. The authors have stated all sources of funding for this work. This work was conducted in accordance with the 1964 Declaration of Helsinki. of Health along with a national ethics committee to proceed with the study protocol, and necessary approvals and permits, including informed consent, were obtained from the participating schools, the parents, and the students before the survey was administered.
Keywords
- Suicide attempt
- risk factors
- gender differences
- Bolivia
