title: Suicidal ideation among Malaysian adolescents.
abstract: Adolescence is the time of greatest risk for the first onset of suicidal behaviors. This study aimed to identify the risk and protective factors associated with suicidal ideation among Malaysian adolescents. Data from the 2012 Malaysia Global School-based Student Health Survey, a nationwide study using a 2-stage cluster sampling design, were analyzed. The survey used a self-administered validated bilingual questionnaire and the Depression Anxiety and Stress Scale. The prevalence of suicidal ideation was 7.9%. Analysis revealed that suicidal ideation was positively associated with depression, anxiety, stress, substance use, being bullied, and being abused at home, either physically or verbally. In addition, suicidal ideation was significantly higher among females and among the Indians and Chinese. Having close friends and married parents were strongly protective against suicidal ideation. Understanding the risk and protective factors is important in providing comprehensive management for suicidal ideation.
authors.affiliation: Institute for Public Health, Ministry of Health Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia drnoorani@moh.gov.my.
authors.forename: NoorAni
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Ahmad
authors.affiliation: Institute for Public Health, Ministry of Health Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
authors.forename: Siew Man
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Cheong
authors.affiliation: Disease Control Division, Ministry of Health Malaysia, Putrajaya, Malaysia.
authors.forename: Nurashikin
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Ibrahim
authors.affiliation: Disease Control Division, Ministry of Health Malaysia, Putrajaya, Malaysia.
authors.forename: Azriman
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rosman
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D005260:Female; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008296:Malaysia / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D012307:Risk Factors; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D059020:Suicidal Ideation
keywords: adolescent health; epidemiology; population health; population studies; psychological/behavioral medicine