Suicide is a major public health concern worldwide. This study aimed to predict the suicidal behavior of Chinese university students by studying psychological measures such as hopelessness, orientation to happiness, meaning in life, depression, anxiety, stress, and coping styles. In November 2016, a stratified-clustered-random sampling approach was utilized to select subjects from two large public medical-related universities in Shandong province, China. This sample consisted of 2,074 undergraduate students (706 males, 1,368 females; mean age = 19.79±1.39 years). The students’ major risk factors for suicide were depression, anxiety, stress, and hopelessness, and the students’ minor risk factors included orientation to happiness and coping styles (including self-distraction, self-blame and substance use). Notably, the presence of meaning in life had a positive effect on preventing suicide and acted as a protective factor, which suggests that it is important to identify risk factors as well as protective factors relevant to the target population group in order to increase the effectiveness of counseling and suicide prevention programs.

Background: A substantial increase in rates of suicide worldwide, especially among late adolescents and young adults, has been observed. It is important to identify specific risk and protective factors for suicide-related behaviors among late adolescents and young adults. Identifying specific factors across the masses, not only in the Western, but also in the Asian context, helps researchers develop empirically informed intervention methods for the management of protective and risk factors of suicide.Methods: In the current study, 2074 students (706 males), filled out the Meaning in Life Questionnaire, with subscales of Search for Meaning (MLQ-S) and Presence of Meaning (MLQ-P); the Future Disposition Inventory-24 (FDI-24), with subscales of Positive Focus (PF), Suicide Orientation (SO), and Negative Focus (NF); and the Beck Hopelessness Scale (BHS). These scales measure protective and risk factors that are linked to suicidal behaviors; while suicidal behaviors were measured by the Suicidal Behaviors Questionnaire-Revised (SBQ-R). Mediation analyses were performed to test the models with both the MLQ-S and MLQ-P as the mediators between a) hopelessness, as measured by BHS and suicidal behaviors; and b) PF, SO, and NF, as measured by FDI-24, and suicidal behaviors. Results: We found that only MLQ-P mediated the relation between hopelessness and suicidal behaviors; while both MLQ-P and MLQ-S mediated PF, SO, and NF (as measured by FDI-24), and suicidal behaviors, respectively. Conclusion: Meaning in life, including both the presence of meaning in life and search for meaning, can be good protective factors against suicidal behaviors.

Background and Objective: Suicide is a leading cause of death in young people. Suicidal thoughts and behaviors can be triggered by life and study stresses; therefore, it is important to understand the role of coping strategies. The current study analyzed the link between different coping strategies and suicidality in university students in China. Methods:A cross-sectional study of 2,074 undergraduate students from China used a stratified-clustered-random sampling method (response rate 94.4%). The Suicidal Behaviors Questionnaire-Revised Scale was used to identify suicidal risks, while the Brief COPE scale was used to measure different coping strategies. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were utilized to examine coping strategies and suicidality.Results: A negative association of some coping skills (active coping and positive reframing) with suicidality and a positive association of some other coping skills (self-distraction, substance abuse, behavioral disengagement, venting, and self-blame) with suicidality were observed after adjusting for sociodemographic and mental health variables. Conclusions:Training and supporting young people to identify and apply adaptive coping strategies to deal with life stress could help to reduce suicidal ideation and behavior.

No abstract

Background: Suicide is a preventable cause of death. Examining suicide rates and trends are important in shaping national suicide prevention strategies. Therefore, the objectives of this study were to analyze age-standardized suicide trends of Malaysia between 2000 and 2019 using the WHO Global Health Estimates data, and to compare the 2019 rate with countries from the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN), Muslim majority countries, and the Group of Seven (G7).Methods: The age-standardized suicide rates data were extracted from the WHO Global Health Estimates. We calculated the average age-standardized suicide rates of the last 3 years from 2017 to 2019. Joinpoint regression analysis was conducted to calculate the average annual percentage change (APC) of the age-standardized suicide rates in Malaysia from 2000 to 2019.Results: Between 2000 and 2019, the minimum and maximum suicide rates for both sexes in Malaysia were 4.9 and 6.1 per 100,000 population respectively, whilst the past 3-year (2017–2019) average rates were 5.6, 8.8, and 2.4 for both sexes, males, and females, respectively. The suicide rates decreased significantly for both sexes between 2000 and 2013. Between 2014 and 2019, the suicide rates increased significantly for males. In 2019, Malaysia recorded the rate of 5.8 per 100,000 population, with an estimated 1,841 suicide deaths, i.e., ~5 deaths per day. The Malaysian suicide rate was the second highest amongst selected Muslim majority countries, in the middle range amongst ASEAN countries, and lower than all G7 countries except Italy.Conclusions: There is a need to further explore factors contributing to the higher suicide rates among Malaysian males. In light of the rising suicide rates in Malaysia, national mental health and suicide prevention initiatives are discussed and the importance of high-quality suicide surveillance data is emphasized.

Background Decriminalizing suicide may decrease overall suicide rates because then individuals who are at risk of suicide would be more willing to seek help from the community and from mental health professionals, therefore enabling early interventions for preventing suicidality. We aimed to examine the suicide trends over the last 20 years in 20 countries that still criminalize attempted suicide, and to compare the suicide rates of these 20 countries against the global average suicide rate and to a comparison sample of 20 countries that do not criminalize suicide, matched according to region and majority religion. Methods Age-standardized suicide rates were extracted from the WHO Global Health Estimates, available for the period 2000-2019. Population data were extracted from the World Bank. We analyzed only countries which criminalize attempted suicide under its criminal justice system. Countries were further categorized according to their membership in the Commonwealth of Nations and countries in Africa. Countries from the same region and with the same majority religion were chosen as a matching group. Joinpoint analysis was used to compare the trends of the two groups with the global average. Results Based on the 2019 WHO Global Health Estimates data, there is a large range in the suicide rates of the countries that criminalize attempted suicide, from 2.5 (Brunei) to 40.9 (Guyana) per 100,000 population. The mean suicide rate was 8.3 (Standard Deviation = 10.6). Out of the 20 countries, seven have suicide rates higher than the global average, covering a total population of about 387.3 million. Of these seven countries, five are in the African region. The other thirteen countries have suicide rates between 2.5 to 8.2. Mean scores of the countries which criminalized attempted suicide was lower than the global average and 20 comparison countries over the 20 years, but average annual percentage in the decrease of suicide was greater for countries in which attempted suicide was not criminalized. Conclusions Based on our review, there was no substantial evidence here to indicate that countries which criminalized attempted suicide had consistently lower suicide rates compared to the global average. There is a need to acknowledge that the currently available evidence is inadequate to definitively claim that criminalizing suicide is beneficial or harmful for the reduction of suicide rate for the entire populations. Future studies should continue to evaluate the unique effects of decriminalizing attempted suicide while controlling for other key associated factors.

No abstract

Undergraduate students with shame are more likely to experience suicidal ideation, but there remains a lack of research investigating the factors underlying this relationship. The interpersonal theory of suicide posits that suicidal ideation is influenced by the simultaneous presence of thwarted belongingness and perceived burdensomeness. We examined the prevalence of suicidal ideation among undergraduate students in China and examined the association between shame and suicidal ideation mediated by perceived burdensomeness and thwarted belongingness. A survey was conducted in July 2018 involving 2320 undergraduate students, and the twelve-month prevalence of suicidal ideation was 8.95%. Shame played a crucial role in predicting suicidal ideation, and the mediating effects of perceived burdensomeness and thwarted belongingness between shame and suicidal ideation were significant. Suicidal ideation is common among undergraduate students in China and merits greater attention. Shame, perceived burdensomeness, and thwarted belongingness may be important factors to assess among undergraduate students in suicide risk assessment and psychological intervention.