Association of parental death and illness with offspring suicidal ideation: cross-sectional study in a large cohort of university students
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Article de revue
This item was published in
Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology. 2022-07-06
English Abstract
PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to (1) investigate the association of parental death and illness with suicidal ideation using a large sample of university students and (2) test whether associations were moderated by ...Read more >
PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to (1) investigate the association of parental death and illness with suicidal ideation using a large sample of university students and (2) test whether associations were moderated by perceived family support. METHODS: We used data from N = 15,008 French university students enrolled in the i-Share cohort (mean age, 20.5 years; 77% women). Students self-reported information on parental death, including the cause, parental illness (cardiovascular, stroke, cancer, depression/anxiety, alcohol abuse), and perceived family support during childhood/adolescence. Twelve-month suicidal ideation was self-reported and categorized into no, occasional, and frequent ideation. RESULTS: Occasional and frequent suicidal ideation were, respectively, reported by 2692 (17.5%) and 699 (4.6%) students. After adjustment for age, gender, and parental education, we found associations between parental death and risk of occasional and frequent suicidal ideation (respectively, RR = 1.98 [1.81-2.17] and RR = 2.73 [2.30-3.24]). Parental deaths from illness, accidents, and suicides had the strongest associations. We also found associations for parental depression/anxiety (occasional, RR = 1.98 [1.81-2.17]; frequent, RR = 2.73 [2.30-3.24]), alcohol use problems (occasional, RR = 1.71 [1.5-1.94]; frequent, RR = 2.33 [1.89-2.87]), and cardiovascular diseases (occasional, RR = 1.22 [1.06-1.40]; frequent, RR = 1.83 [1.47-2.27]). For participants who experienced parental death and stroke, associations with occasional and frequent suicidal ideation (respectively) increased as perceived family support increased (Ps(interaction) ≤ 0.005). CONCLUSIONS: Students who experienced parental death and common parental illnesses were at risk of reporting suicidal ideation, especially if their family were perceived as an important source of support. As information on parental death or illness can be routinely collected during health visits, attention should be paid to students reporting such experiences.Read less <
English Keywords
Suicidal ideation
Parental death
Parental illness
University students
Cross-sectional
European Project
Early-life influences on suicidal ideation, suicide attempts and suicide mortality: a life-course perspective to inform prevention
ANR Project
Etude de cohorte sur la santé des étudiants
Initiative d'excellence de l'Université de Bordeaux - ANR-10-IDEX-0003
University of Bordeaux Graduate School in Digital Public Health - ANR-17-EURE-0019
Initiative d'excellence de l'Université de Bordeaux - ANR-10-IDEX-0003
University of Bordeaux Graduate School in Digital Public Health - ANR-17-EURE-0019