Non-lethal suicidal behavior in university students of Spain during COVID-19

Abstract

BackgroundSuicide is the fourth external cause of death in the world, in persons between the ages of l5 and 29. The objectives of this study were to measure the prevalence of suicidal behavior in university students and analyze the relationship of suicide risk with psychological distress, resilience, and family and social support.MethodsAn observational and transversal study wherein the students at the University of Malaga (Spain) completed an online questionnaire which included items from different scales, sociodemographic and academic questions, and the subjective impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Descriptive analyses and prevalence rates of suicidal behavior were calculated, and bivariate analyses, multiple linear regression, and a mediation and moderation analyses were conducted.ResultsA total of 2,212 students completed the questionnaire. The prevalence of the last 6 months was 30.4% wishing for death, 14.7% suicidal ideation, 5% self-harm injuries, and 0.5% suicide attempts. Psychological distress, family and social support were linked to the risk of suicide. Lastly, resilience and family support measure and moderate the relation between psychological stress and suicide risk.ConclusionPsychological distress is a risk factor for suicidal behavior, while resilience and family and social support are linked to a lower risk of suicide.

An investigation of academic resilience, resilience, and empathy in pharmacy students: Implications for pharmacy education

“…The mean overall resilience score for the pharmacy students, as measured by the BRS, was 3.2 ± 0.58, falling within the normal range according to the BRS manual. When compared to other studies using the same scale, the resilience scores from this sample were higher than those of the undergraduate students in Spain and Brazil during the COVID-19 pandemic (Prado et al, 2023;Ramos-Martín et al, 2023). These scores also exceeded the average resilience scores observed among university students in Oman, which included pharmacy and medicine students (Al-Mahrouqi et al, 2023).…”