Suicidal behaviours among adolescents in Liberia
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RESEARCH ARTICLE
Open Access
Suicidal behaviours among adolescents in Liberia Emmanuel Nii-Boye Quarshie1,2* , Henry K. Onyeaka3,4
and Kwaku Oppong Asante1,5
Abstract Background: Whereas suicide remains in the top 12 leading causes of death among young people aged 10–24 in sub-Saharan Africa, little is known about suicidal behaviours among adolescents in Liberia. We aimed to estimate the 12-month prevalence and describe some of the correlates of suicide behaviours (ideation, planning, and attempt) among school-going adolescents in Liberia. Methods: We analysed data from the 2017 Liberia Global School-based Student Health Survey conducted nationwide among secondary school students. We performed bivariate and multivariable analyses to assess the correlates of suicidal ideation, planning, and attempt in the previous 12 months. Results: Of the 2744 students, 26.8% reported suicidal ideation, 36.5% made a specific plan to attempt suicide and 33.7% attempted suicide during the 12 months preceding the survey. In the final adjusted logistic models, bullying victimisation and food insecurity were associated with increased odds of ideation, planning, and attempt. Whereas no factor was uniquely associated with suicidal ideation, having many close friends, and parental monitoring were associated with the increased odds of suicidal planning only. Leisure-time sedentary behaviour was associated with increased odds of suicidal planning and attempt. Cannabis use, alcohol drunkenness, being physically attacked, and parental supervision were uniquely associated with increased odds of suicidal attempt, while parental understanding and having a smaller number of close friends were uniquely associated with reduced odds of suicidal attempt. Conclusions: The relatively high prevalence estimates of suicide behaviours and the multi-contextual nature of the associated factors warrant the need for the design and implementation of universal and multi-level, collaborative targeted intervention efforts towards the prevention of the onset of ideation, planning, and attempt, and the possible transition to deaths by suicide among school-going adolescents in Liberia. Keywords: Adolescents, Attempted suicide, Liberia, Suicide, Suicidal ideation, Suicidal planning
Background According to the World Health Organization (WHO), suicidal behaviour is “a range of behaviours that include thinking about suicide (or ideation), planning for suicide, attempting suicide and suicide itself” [1]. Globally, suicidal behaviours represent a leading cause of injury and * Correspondence: [email protected]; [email protected] 1 Department of Psychology, University of Ghana, P.O. Box LG 84, Accra, Ghana 2 School of Psychology, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK Full list of author information is available at the end of the article
death, with 79% of suicide-related mortality reported in low- and middle-income countries, LAMICs [1–3]. Across the world, suicide represents the second leading cause of death among 15–19-year-olds [3]. Adolescents who experience suicida
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