Suicide ideation among Brazilian college students: Relationship with academic factors, mental health, and sexual abuse.

BACKGROUND: Suicide is one of the leading causes of death among youth and its occurrence among college students is a matter of great concern. Challenges of transitional adulting and mental illness increase the likelihood of suicidal cognition in students. The objective of present study was to investigate the prevalence of suicide ideation and associated factors in a representative sample of Brazilian college students (n = 12,245). METHODS: Data were drawn from a nationwide survey and further subjected to estimate the prevalence of suicide ideation and its association with socio-demographic and academic characteristics. We performed logistic regression analyses upon a conceptual framework, considering individual and academic factors. RESULTS: The point-prevalence of suicide ideation among college students was 5.9 % (SE = 0.37). In the final regression model, variables associated with the likelihood of suicide ideation were psychopathology, sexual abuse, and academic variables, such as dissatisfaction with the chosen undergraduate course (OR = 1.86; IC95 % 1.43-2.41) and low academic performance (OR = 3.56; IC95 % 1.69-7.48). Having children and religious affiliation were inversely associated with the likelihood of suicide ideation. LIMITATIONS: Participants were recruited from state capitals, which limited data generalizability to non-urban college students. CONCLUSIONS: The impact of academic life on the mental health of students should be carefully monitored in in-campus pedagogical and health services. Early identification of poor-performance students with social disadvantages could indicate vulnerable ones who are much in need of psycho-social support.

Revisiting evidence of primary prevention of suicide among adult populations: A systematic overview.

BACKGROUNDS: Primary prevention of suicidal behaviors in the general population is required to interrupt the trend of self-inflicted deaths worldwide. We reviewed the evidence of the efficacy of primary prevention of suicide among the adult population. METHODS: This is an overview of systematic reviews. We searched PubMed, EMBASE, Scopus, PsycINFO, and Cochrane databases to identify articles on suicide prevention strategies in non-clinical populations. For the purpose of overview, only systematic reviews were eligible. Primary outcomes: The outcomes of the present study were changes in the number of suicide death or suicide behaviors. Two reviewers assessed the methodological quality and the risk of bias of included studies. RESULTS: From the initial 2,315 records, 32 articles met inclusion criteria. Evidence of reduction of suicide-related outcomes was detected, but of small magnitude. Most multicomponent prevention programs were delivered to specific populations, comprising strategies such as restriction to lethal means, educational programs, and gatekeeper training. Means restriction was the single intervention that showed some evidence of individual efficacy in reducing suicide. There is evidence that poor quality of media reporting is related with increasing suicide and better-quality reports could help suicide prevention. Most of the included SRs were of critically-low methodological quality. LIMITATIONS: Publication bias, reporting bias, study designs, outcome definition and article overlap across studies are the main concerns. CONCLUSIONS: Multicomponent programs and means restriction have indicated a reduction of suicide rates, mainly in specific populations. There is insufficient evidence to recommend a widespread implementation of suicide primary prevention in the general population.