Borderline Personality Symptoms: What Not to Be Overlooked When Approaching Suicidal Ideation among University Students

Abstract

Suicidal ideation is a serious condition antecedent to suicidal attempts and is highly related not only to depression but also other psychosocial factors. This study aimed to examine the predictive effects of these potential factors for suicidal ideation among young adult university students. A cross-sectional survey was conducted on a sample of university students in Thailand. An online questionnaire employed the perceived stress scale-10 (PSS-10), the patient health questionnaire-8 (PHQ-8), the multidimensional scale of perceived social support (MSPSS), and a screening instrument for borderline personality disorder. An ordinal regression analysis was applied to determine the predictive effects of the independent variables. Of 336 students, the mean age was 20.26 ± 1.3 years, 80.4% of whom were female; 14.3% had suicidal ideation. The significant predictors of suicidal thoughts were perceived stress (AOR 1.11, 95% CI 1.01 to 1.22); depressive symptoms (AOR 1.16, 95% CI 1.05 to 1.22); borderline personality symptoms (AOR 1.19, 95% CI 1.01 to 1.40); and perceived social support (AOR 0.97, 95% CI 0.94 to 1.00). Not only did depressive symptoms contribute to suicidal ideation but they also constituted important variables. Therefore, they should be included in intervention plans to prevent suicidality among university students.

Borderline Personality Disorder Symptoms and Its Clinical Correlates among Chinese University Students: A Cross-Sectional Study

“…It has been found that the suicide rate among people with BPD may be as high as 10%, which is almost 50 times higher than those of the general population [ 1 ]. BPD was found to be higher than depressive symptoms in predicting suicidality among Thai university students, (OR 1.19 vs. 1.16) [ 5 ]. This finding was in line with a study among Thai adults in which BPD showed a higher predicting effect for suicidal attempts than depressive disorders (OR 8.439 vs. 4.62) [ 6 ].…”

Impact of a Digital Intervention for Literacy in Depression among Portuguese University Students: A Randomized Controlled Trial

“…Although this methodological choice was made in order to measure knowledge during all stages of the intervention, it may have contributed to participants dropping out of the intervention, since many students did not complete the questionnaire in the post-intervention and follow-up phases and therefore gave up continuing in the study. Studies with more than two follow-up phases generally have a high drop-out rate, especially if the participants do not receive a reward that interests them [ 9 , 11 ]. In this study, the drop-out rate was high, representing 63% of the initial sample.…”

“…Providing mental health knowledge and promoting health literacy to young university students is a challenge for universities and the public health system [ 7 , 8 ]. Nowadays, an increasing number of cases of young people with depression are undetected, unrecognized and undertreated, leading to tragic episodes such as suicide and causing a great impact on the family and social environment [ 9 , 10 , 11 ]. According to the World Health Organization, depression is the leading cause of disability worldwide [ 12 ].…”

“…According to the World Health Organization, depression is the leading cause of disability worldwide [ 12 ]. University students are exposed to specific challenges given their new responsibilities and are reported as a risk population for mental health problems, namely anxiety and/or depression [ 13 ], which can trigger other, more serious, disorders [ 11 ]. Young people are often reluctant to seek professional help for a mental/psychological disorder [ 7 , 14 ], due to preconceived ideas imposed by society, low mental health literacy and fear of being exposed [ 15 , 16 ].…”

“…A person with depressive symptoms has a negative cognition of the things around them. Depression is an illness in which feelings of deep sadness, emptiness, tiredness and lack of interest are present, which can lead to serious consequences such as suicide, causing great difficulties in family and social contexts [ 11 ].…”