Suicide and related health risk behaviours among school learners in South Africa: results from the 2002 and 2008 national youth risk behaviour surveys

Abstract

BackgroundAttempted and completed suicide constitute a major public health problem among young people world-wide, including South Africa (SA). Suicide attempt and completed suicide increase during the adolescent period. One in 5 adolescents considers attempting suicide, but statistics are frequently unreliable.MethodsData for this study were derived from the 2002 and 2008 South African Youth Risk Behaviour Surveys (YRBS). The study population comprised grades 8, 9, 10 and 11 students in governmental schools in the nine provinces of SA (N = 10,699 in 2002 and 10,270 in 2008). Key outcome measures were suicide ideation and suicide attempts.ResultsOf the total sample, 18% of the students in 2002 and 19% in 2008 reported to have seriously considered and/or made a plan to commit suicide during the past six months (Suicide ideation), whereas 18.5% of students in 2002 and 21.8% in 2008 reported that they had attempted suicide at least 1 time during the past six months. On both suicide measures girls have higher prevalence scores than boys, and older school learners score higher than younger learners. In addition, 32% of the learners reported feelings of sadness or hopelessness. These feelings contributed significantly to the explanation of suicide ideation and suicide attempt next to being the victim or actor in violent acts and illegal substance use.ConclusionThe prevalence of suicide ideation and suicide attempts among South African adolescents is high and seems to be influenced by a wide spectrum of factors at the demographic, psychological and behavioural level. Hence, more research is needed to determine the behavioural and psychological determinants of suicide among youngsters in order to develop comprehensive intervention strategies for suicide prevention and care.

Suicide attempts in Brazil, 1998–2014: an ecological study

“…In fact, in one study, the methods of attempted suicide were hanging or gunshot for seven out of ten boys and drug overdose for nine out of ten girls [15]. By contrast, more women attempt suicide than men [16, 17]. However, women tend to use less effective and gentler methods in their suicide attempts than men, which less frequently require hospitalization.…”

“…A study conducted in Poland that assessed suicide attempts by various methods showed that the most common method was intoxication with medical drugs (42.31 %) [16]. In a review of methods used to commit suicide in Asia, hanging and poisoning with solid/liquid substances (mainly pesticides) were the predominant methods [33].…”

Risk and protective factors for suicidal ideation and behaviour in Rwandan children

“…While suicide risk has been understudied in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), there is some evidence to suggest that rates of suicidal ideation and attempt might be higher among individuals living in SSA, with studies finding rates of suicidal behavior among school children ranging from 19.6% in Uganda to a high of 31.9% in Zambia (4). One study in South Africa found that more than one in five adolescents ages 13–19 reported having attempted suicide in the last six months (5). These observed elevated rates of suicidal ideation and behavior in youth in SSA may be due in part to disproportionately high rates of stressors with known associations to suicidality, such as HIV, which has been observed to increase psychosocial stress and hopelessness (6–8).…”

The development of a screening tool for the early identification of risk for suicidal behavior among students in a developing country.

“…Previous research suggests that given the limited resources of public health systems, school resources should be used to develop evidence-based suicide prevention and intervention programmes (e.g., Shilubane et al, 2013; Peltzer, Kleintjies, van Wyk, Thompson, & Mashego, 2008) with school personnel, such as teachers, being involved in screening for a national suicide prevention programme to become fully established (Schlebusch, 2012). …”

“…Another measure used in South Africa is the Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) developed by the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System in the United States for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The YRBS has been adapted by Shilubane and colleagues (2013). However, little research has been done in this area and most of this work has been largely descriptive (e.g., Wild, Flisher, & Lombard, 2004).…”