Suicidal Thoughts, Attempts and Motives Among University Students in 12 Muslim-Majority Countries.

Journal: The Psychiatric quarterly

Volume: 90

Issue: 1

Year of Publication: 2019

Affiliated Institutions:  Department of Psychology, College of Social Sciences and Humanities, Koc University, Rumelifeneriyolu Sariyer, Istanbul, Turkey. meskin@ku.edu.tr. Al Dara Hospital and Medical Center, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Rafsanjan Medical School, Rafsanjan, Iran. Department of Psychology, Faculty of Arts, Alexandria University, Alexandria, Egypt. Department of Psychology, Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Adnan Menderes University, Aydin, Turkey. Department of Psychology, Faculty of Human Sciences, Beirut Arab University, Beirut, Lebanon. Department of Psychiatry, Medical College, Aga Khan University, Karachi, Pakistan. Faculty of Education, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Johor, Malaysia. Department of Psychiatry, University hospital of Monastir, Monastir, Tunisia. Dr Soeharto Heerdjan Mental Hospital, Jakarta, Indonesia. School of Public Health, Al-Quds University, Jerusalem, Palestine. Department of Psychology, Khazar University, Baku, Azerbaijan. Department of Community Medicine, Public Health and Family Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Jordan University of Science & Technology, Irbid, Jordan. Population Health Research Section-Hospital-MNGHA, King Abdullah International Medical Research Center / King Saud Bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Faculty of Medicine, Syarif Hidayatullah State Islamic University, Jakarta, Indonesia. Faculty of Health Professions, Department of Nursing, Al-Quds University, Jerusalem, Palestine.

Abstract summary 

There is a scarcity of research on suicidal phenomena in the Muslim world. Therefore, this study aimed at investigating the self-reported prevalence of suicidal thoughts, attempts and motives in 12 Muslim countries. A total of 8417 (54.4% women) university students were surveyed by means of a self-report questionnaire. Overall, 22% of the participants reported suicidal ideation and 8.6% reported attempting suicide. The odds of suicidal thoughts were elevated in Azerbaijan, Indonesia and Saudi Arabia, while reduced ORs were recorded in Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon and Malaysia. While odds of suicide attempts were high in Azerbaijan, Palestine and Saudi Arabia reduced odds ratios (OR) were detected in Indonesia, Iran, Jordan, Lebanon, Malaysia and Tunisia. Taking drugs and using a sharp instrument were the two most frequently used methods to attempt suicide. Only 32.7% of attempts required medical attention. Escape motives were endorsed more than social motives by participants who attempted suicide. Suicidal behaviors were more frequent in women than in men. Compered to men, fewer attempts by women required medical attention. Moreover, our results show that making suicide illegal does not reduce the frequency of suicidal behavior. Results from this comparative study show that suicidal thoughts and attempts are frequent events in young adults in countries where religious scripture explicitly prohibit suicide and the frequencies of nonfatal suicidal behavior show large variation in nations adhering to the same religion.

Authors & Co-authors:  Eskin Mehmet M AlBuhairan Fadia F Rezaeian Mohsen M Abdel-Khalek Ahmed M AM Harlak Hacer H El-Nayal Mayssah M Asad Nargis N Khan Aqeel A Mechri Anwar A Noor Isa Multazam IM Hamdan Motasem M Isayeva Ulker U Khader Yousef Y Al Sayyari Alaa A Khader Albaraa A Behzadi Bahareh B Öztürk Cennet Şafak CŞ Hendarmin Laifa Annisa LA Khan Murad Moosa MM Khatib Salam S

Study Outcome 

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Statistics
Citations :  J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 1998 Dec;37(12):1287-93
Authors :  20
Identifiers
Doi : 10.1007/s11126-018-9613-4
SSN : 1573-6709
Study Population
Women
Mesh Terms
Adult
Other Terms
Muslim world;Suicidal motives;Suicide attempt;Suicide ideation;Young adults
Study Design
Cross Sectional Study
Study Approach
Country of Study
Tunisia
Publication Country
United States