An Ecological Inquiry on Young People's Suicidal Ideation at University: Individual, Relational and Cultural Factors and Their Interactions

• Published in: European Journal of Investigation in Health, Psychology and Education (EJIHPE) Vol. 14; no. 1; pp. 64 - 86
• Main Authors: Nuñez Fadda, Silvana Mabel, Ciambelli Romero, Hugo César, Gradilla Lizardo, Naiara Sophia, Sánchez Castillón, Jorge Alejandro
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 01.01.2024
• Subjects: Analysis; Anxiety Disorders; At Risk Persons; Bullying; Child Abuse; College Students; Community Relations; Community Support; Coping; Cultural Influences; Death; Definitions; Domestic relations; Educational Environment; Family (Sociological Unit); family function; gender; Individual Development; Internet; Life Satisfaction; loneliness; Mental disorders; Mental Health; Personality Problems; psychological distress; Psychopathology; Self esteem; Social aspects; Social media; Social Networks; Social Services; Social support; Stress (Psychology); Suicidal behavior; Suicidal ideation; Suicide; Suicides & suicide attempts; Teenagers; university students; Violence; virtual social media; Young Adults; Youth; Mexico; Latin America; university students; virtual social media; gender; suicidal ideation; loneliness; psychological distress; community support; family function
• ISSN: 2254-9625; 2174-8144; 2254-9625
• DOI: 10.3390/ejihpe14010005

To understand the factors related to suicidal ideation in university students, we examined individual and microsystemic variables with an ecological model organizing bidirectional influences between different dimensions. Suicidal ideation, psychological distress, multidimensional self-concept, loneliness, community social support, life satisfaction, family functioning, bullying victimization, and problematic use of virtual social networks were measured in a sample of 376 Mexican university students (67% women) from 18 to 34 years of age (M = 20.8). Data were collected in March 2020, before mandatory confinement for COVID started in Mexico. Discriminant analyses showed that psychological distress, loneliness, self-concept, life satisfaction, family functioning, internet violence/rejection, and informal social support predicted belonging to high or no suicidal ideation groups with 88% accuracy. Only psychological distress and family self-concept predicted suicidal ideation in multilinear regression analyses. There were differences by gender in multilinear regression, with family self-concept significant for women and physical self-concept, but not family self-concept for boys. Conclusions: Early Suicide prevention in universities should include periodic screening of psychological distress, loneliness, and virtual social media use to identify students that need further evaluation and intervention. University-based strategies of mental health promotion that strengthen family relationships and the sense of community, including gender-sensitive orientation, could enhance the effect of protective factors.