Suicidal behaviour in adolescents: Educational interventions in Mexico.

Suicide in adolescents constitutes a public health problem throughout the world. The objective of this study was to identify the prevalence of suicidal behaviour in a public middle school in Mexico and to implement appropriate educational interventions in the school and community contexts. Our work took place from September 2017 to July 2018. We conducted a quasi-experimental, mixed-methodology study with 12-year-old students in first year of middle school (n = 29), using an educational intervention approach within the frame of the Life Skills Education methodology. We included family members and academic staff in the study with the view of sensitising them to suicidal behaviour. At the community level, we worked with the adolescent and adult populations to form 'gatekeepers' (guardians). We administered a questionnaire on psychosocial indicators of depression and suicide risk to 383 students in their first-to-third years of middle school. Other questionnaires were applied, and life skills focus groups (FGs) were organised with the educational intervention participants. The questionnaires addressed suicidal behaviour in adolescents, alcohol consumption, life skills and prosociality. Prevalence of attempted suicide cases came to 14.1% (95 CI% 10.7-17.9), the average age of those who reported having hurt themselves with the purpose of taking their lives was 12.9 years, 75% of those who had attempted suicide were female and 64.8% had consumed alcohol. The educational intervention with students achieved a statistically significant increase in the life skills of participants, specifically as regards self-awareness and overall scores. The family members in the FGs developed greater awareness of suicidal behaviour, and the adolescents engaged at the community level significantly broadened (p < .05) their knowledge of depression. In developing countries such as Mexico, it is essential not only to increase the number of interventions for preventing suicidal behaviour in adolescents, but also to improve instruments for measuring the extent of the problem.

Individual Contribution of Youth Antisocial Symptoms to Suicide Behavior in Adults with Substance Use Disorders.

This study assesses the individual contribution of youth symptoms of antisocial personality disorder (before the age of 15) in past-month suicidal behavior in adults with substance use disorders. Youth antisocial symptoms and suicidal behavior were assessed using the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview. Indicators of youth antisocial symptoms were significantly associated with suicide outcomes; lack of remorse (OR = 2.68 CI 95% 1.37, 5.25), and sexual assault with planning, and destruction of property to attempt (OR = 4.22 CI 95% 1.29, 15.08). Our results suggest that specific antisocial indicators during adolescence could be associated with suicide in adulthood, even after controlling for major depressive disorder. Further implications for the research of antisocial symptoms and suicide behavior from a developmental perspective are discussed.

The Big Five Inventory-2: Confirmatory Factor Analysis and Latent Profiles in a Mexican Sample

Introduction: The Big-Five Inventory-2 is a recently developed instrument for the measurement of personality factors and facets, with good psychometric properties cross-culturally. We examined the validity of this test, test-retest reliability, and internal consistency in a Mexican sample. We also aimed to extract latent profiles in order to identify subgroups of individuals based on personality traits. Method: We recruited a two-wave non-probabilistic sample by way of chain referral through social networks. The BFI-2 (60-items version) was administered in the first wave, and the BFI-2-XS (15-items version) in the second wave. The Quality-of-Life Enjoyment and Satisfaction Questionnaire-Short Form was also administered. The baseline sample included 2,025 participants and the follow-up included 610. Results: Factor models of the BFI-2 and the BFI-2-XS evidenced satisfactory goodness-of-fit, reliability and nomological validity with demographics (e.g., higher negative emotionality in women) and with quality of life. We extracted five latent profiles from the BFI-2; those characterised by High Agreeableness/Low Open-mindedness, High Stability/Low Plasticity, and Average Stability/Plasticity, showed better quality of life. Conclusion: We recommend the use of facets, aiming to reduce measurement error. Further studies with more demographically balanced samples should be performed in order to test the replication of the latent profiles.

Introducción: El Big-Five Inventory-2 (BFI-2) es un instrumento para la medición de factores y facetas de la personalidad desarrollado recientemente y reportado con buenas propiedades psicométricas transculturalmente. Evaluamos la validez de esta prueba, la confiabilidad test-retest y la consistencia interna en una muestra mexicana. Además, obtuvimos perfiles latentes para identificar subgrupos de individuos en función de los rasgos de personalidad. Método: Reclutamos una muestra no probabilística de dos olas mediante muestreo por cadena por medio de redes sociales. El BFI-2 (versión de 60 ítems) se administró en la primera ola y el BFI-2-XS (versión de 15 ítems) en la segunda ola. Al mismo tiempo, aplicamos el cuestionario Quality of Life Enjoyment and Satisfaction-Short Form. La muestra inicial incluyó 2025 participantes y el seguimiento 610. Resultados: Los modelos factoriales del BFI-2 y el BFI-2-XS demostraron bondad de ajuste, confiabilidad y validez nomológica satisfactorias en relación con la demografía (e.g., mayor emocionalidad negativa en mujeres) y con la calidad de vida. Obtuvimos cinco perfiles latentes del BFI-2; aquellos caracterizados por alta amabilidad/baja apertura de mente, alta estabilidad/baja plasticidad y moderada estabilidad/plasticidad, mostraron mejor calidad de vida. Conclusiones: Recomendamos el uso de facetas, con el objetivo de reducir el error de medición. Se deben realizar más estudios con muestras más equilibradas demográficamente para probar la replicación de los perfiles latentes.