Prevalence and risk factors for suicidal ideation among adolescents during the COVID-19 pandemic: a cross-sectional study

Roxane Dumont, Elsa Lorthe, Viviane Richard, Andrea Loizeau, Guillaume Fernandez, David De Ridder, Francesco Pennacchio, Julien Lamour, María-Eugenia Zaballa, Hélène Baysson, Klara M. Posfay-Barbe, Remy P. Barbe, Silvia Stringhini, Idris Guessous.
Prevalence of and risk factors for suicidal ideation in adolescents during the COVID-19 pandemic: a cross-sectional study.Swiss Medical Weekly, 2024, Vol. 154 No. 4, doi.org/10.57187/s.3461

Abstract

Context and objectives: Life changes associated with the pandemic may have had a detrimental impact on suicidal behaviour. Early detection of suicidal ideation and identification of subgroups at increased risk could help prevent suicide, one of the leading causes of death in the adolescent population worldwide. In this study, we set out to investigate the prevalence and risk factors for suicidal ideation among adolescents using a representative sample of the Swiss population, two years after the start of the pandemic.

Methods: Between December 2021 and June 2022, adolescents aged 14 to 17 already involved in a population-based cohort study (canton of Geneva, Switzerland) were asked about any suicidal ideation in the previous year. In addition to a regression model, we performed a network analysis that identified the direct and indirect risk factors associated with suicidal ideation (i.e. those linked by intermediate risk factors).

Results: Among the 492 adolescents, 14.4% (95% CI: 11.5-17.8) reported having experienced suicidal ideation in the previous year. Using network analysis, we found that high psychological distress, low self-esteem, identifying as lesbian, gay or bisexual, being bullied, extensive screen use and severe impact of the COVID-19 pandemic were major risk factors for suicidal ideation, with the parent-adolescent relationship having the highest centrality in the network.

Conclusion: Our results show that a significant proportion of adolescents may have experienced suicidal ideation, but that these rates are comparable to those prior to the pandemic. Providing psychological support is essential, with the emphasis on improving parent-adolescent relationships.

Link to the article in English