Epidemiology of suicidal ideation, suicide attempts, and direct self-injurious behavior in adolescents with a migration background : a representative study

Donath, Carolin; Bergmann, Marie Christine; Kliem, Sören; Hillemacher, Thomas; Baier, Dirk

doi:10.21256/zhaw-5021

Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://doi.org/10.21256/zhaw-5021

Publication type:	Article in scientific journal
Type of review:	Peer review (publication)
Title:	Epidemiology of suicidal ideation, suicide attempts, and direct self-injurious behavior in adolescents with a migration background : a representative study
Authors:	Donath, Carolin Bergmann, Marie Christine Kliem, Sören Hillemacher, Thomas Baier, Dirk
DOI:	10.21256/zhaw-5021 10.1186/s12887-019-1404-z
Published in:	BMC Pediatrics
Volume(Issue):	19
Issue:	45
Issue Date:	2019
Publisher / Ed. Institution:	BioMed Central
ISSN:	1471-2431
Language:	English
Subjects:	Adolescent; Cross-cultural comparison; Cross-sectional studies; Human migration; Pediatrics/epidemiology; Self-injurious behavior/epidemiology; Suicidal ideation; Suicide, attempted/statistics & numerical data
Subject (DDC):	616.8: Neurology, diseases of nervous system
Abstract:	Background: Data on the prevalence of suicidal ideation, suicide attempts, and direct self-injurious behavior in adolescents with a migration background are scarce. There are hints that this population is at risk. The aim of the study is to investigate the epidemiology of suicidal ideation, suicide attempts, and direct self-injurious behavior in adolescents with a migration background in Germany while taking gender-specific differences into consideration. Methods: A representative study with N = 10,638 students (mean age 14.91 years, SD = .73).) in the state of Lower Saxony in Germany was conducted. In the 2014–2015 school year, 672 classes were selected by randomly sampling different school types. The participation rate was 84.1%, excluding any classes for which the director refused to provide consent. A total of 49.8% were female adolescents, and 23.3% of the participants had a migration background. Target variables were assessed with items from the Ottawa Self-Injury Inventory, the Self-Harm Behavior Questionnaire and the Self-Harm Inventory, partly adapted. Results: Of all students, 7.6% had a lifetime history of suicide attempts, and 36.6% answered with a rating of at least “rarely” when asked to rate the lifetime prevalence of suicidal ideation. The 12-month prevalence of direct self-injurious behavior was 17.8%. Adolescents with a migration background showed a significantly higher prevalence of all three constructs (p = .006; p < .001; p = .006). Male students with a migration background reported a significantly higher lifetime prevalence of suicide attempts (4.7% vs. 3.1%) than native males (p = .009). Female students with a migration background reported a significantly higher lifetime prevalence of suicide attempts (15.9% vs. 10.4%) and suicidal ideation (“often” 12.1% vs. 8.9%) than native female students (p < .001; p = .008). Conclusion: Our assessment indicates an elevated risk for suicidal behaviors in adolescents with a migration background. From research on adults, it is known that the dominant motives for suicidal behavior in migrants are associated with their migration history/situation. As suggested by Cramer and Kapusta’s (Front Psychol 8:1756, 2017) theoretical model, the Social-Ecological Framework of Theory, Assessment, and Prevention, there is a need for culturally sensitive preventions that take into account the specific reasons for suicide attempts in migrants.
URI:	https://digitalcollection.zhaw.ch/handle/11475/15267
Fulltext version:	Published version
License (according to publishing contract):	CC BY 4.0: Attribution 4.0 International
Departement:	Social Work
Organisational Unit:	Institute of Delinquency and Crime Prevention (IDK)
Appears in collections:	Publikationen Soziale Arbeit

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Donath, C., Bergmann, M. C., Kliem, S., Hillemacher, T., & Baier, D. (2019). Epidemiology of suicidal ideation, suicide attempts, and direct self-injurious behavior in adolescents with a migration background : a representative study. BMC Pediatrics, 19(45). https://doi.org/10.21256/zhaw-5021

Donath, C. et al. (2019) ‘Epidemiology of suicidal ideation, suicide attempts, and direct self-injurious behavior in adolescents with a migration background : a representative study’, BMC Pediatrics, 19(45). Available at: https://doi.org/10.21256/zhaw-5021.

C. Donath, M. C. Bergmann, S. Kliem, T. Hillemacher, and D. Baier, “Epidemiology of suicidal ideation, suicide attempts, and direct self-injurious behavior in adolescents with a migration background : a representative study,” BMC Pediatrics, vol. 19, no. 45, 2019, doi: 10.21256/zhaw-5021.

DONATH, Carolin, Marie Christine BERGMANN, Sören KLIEM, Thomas HILLEMACHER und Dirk BAIER, 2019. Epidemiology of suicidal ideation, suicide attempts, and direct self-injurious behavior in adolescents with a migration background : a representative study. BMC Pediatrics. 2019. Bd. 19, Nr. 45. DOI 10.21256/zhaw-5021

Donath, Carolin, Marie Christine Bergmann, Sören Kliem, Thomas Hillemacher, and Dirk Baier. 2019. “Epidemiology of Suicidal Ideation, Suicide Attempts, and Direct Self-Injurious Behavior in Adolescents with a Migration Background : A Representative Study.” BMC Pediatrics 19 (45). https://doi.org/10.21256/zhaw-5021.

Donath, Carolin, et al. “Epidemiology of Suicidal Ideation, Suicide Attempts, and Direct Self-Injurious Behavior in Adolescents with a Migration Background : A Representative Study.” BMC Pediatrics, vol. 19, no. 45, 2019, https://doi.org/10.21256/zhaw-5021.