Suicidal ideation among Viennese high school students.
OBJECTIVE
Suicidality spans a spectrum ranging from suicidal thoughts to suicidal acts, and suicidal ideation is more prevalent in youth populations, suggesting important developmental issues. We assessed the prevalence of lifetime suicidal ideation and associated psychosocial factors among Viennese high school students.


METHODS
An anonymous self-report survey assessing demographic characteristics and the major psychiatric risk factors of teenage suicide was completed by students at three Viennese high schools (n = 214; mean age 15.4 years).


RESULTS
Eighty-one (37.9%) high school students reported having had suicidal thoughts at some point in their lives, girls significantly more often than boys (48.5% vs. 29.1%, P = 0.004). Furthermore, lifetime suicidal ideation in Viennese high school students was associated with living in broken-home families, cigarette smoking, substance problems (alcohol/drugs), self-reported depression, and high school type (the highest prevalence was in grammar school). After adjusting for confounders, we found that female gender, substance problems, school type and cigarette smoking were significantly associated with lifetime suicidal ideation in Viennese high school students.


CONCLUSIONS
The psychosocial factors associated with adolescent suicidal ideation require attention in the contexts of suicide prevention and mental health promotion.
Dervic
Kanita
K
Department of Child and Adolescent Neuropsychiatry, University Hospital, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria. kanita.dervic@meduniwien.ac.at
Akkaya-Kalayci
Türkan
T
Kapusta
Nestor D
ND
Kaya
Marihan
M
Merl
Elisabeth
E
Vogel
Elisabeth
E
Pellegrini
Elisabeth
E
Friedrich
Max H
MH
D000293:Adolescent; D001317:Austria; D015897:Comorbidity; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012307:Risk Factors; D012737:Sex Factors; D012907:Smoking / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology; D012931:Social Environment; D013223:Statistics as Topic; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology*; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology; D013405:Suicide / Q000523:psychology*; D013406:Suicide, Attempted / Q000523:psychology*; D013850:Thinking; D014505:Urban Population / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*