Socio-economic and psychological correlates of suicidality among Hong Kong working-age adults: results from a population-based survey.
BACKGROUND
The global toll of suicide is estimated to be one million lives per year, which exceeded the number of deaths by homicide and war combined. A key step to suicide prevention is to prevent less serious suicidal behaviour to preclude more lethal outcomes. Although 61% of the world's suicides take place in Asia and the suicide rates among middle age groups have been increasing since the economic crisis in many Asian countries, population-based studies of suicidal behaviour among working-age adults in non-western communities are scarce.


METHODS
Data from a population-based survey with 2015 participants were used to estimate the prevalence of suicidal ideation and behaviour among the working-age population in Hong Kong, and to study the associated socio-economic and psychological correlates. We focused particularly on potential modulating factors between life-event-related factors and suicidal ideation.


RESULTS
Six per cent of the Hong Kong population aged 20-59 years considered suicide in the past year, while 1.4% attempted suicide. Hopelessness, reasons for living, and reluctance to seek help from family and friends had direct association with past-year suicidal ideation. Reasons for living were found to moderate the effect of perceived stress on suicidal ideation.


CONCLUSIONS
Suicidality is a multi-faceted problem that calls for a multi-sectored, multi-layered approach to prevention. Prevention programmes can work on modulating factors such as reasons for living to reduce suicidal risk in working-age adults.
Liu
Ka Y
KY
HKJC Centre for Suicide Research and Prevention, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong. ka-yuet.liu@nuffield.ox.ac.uk
Chen
Eric Y H
EY
Chan
Cecilia L W
CL
Lee
Dominic T S
DT
Law
Y W
YW
Conwell
Yeates
Y
Yip
Paul S F
PS
D000328:Adult; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006723:Hong Kong / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011159:Population Surveillance / Q000379:methods*; D015995:Prevalence; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D013406:Suicide, Attempted / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires