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Psychological and socio-ecological correlates of 12-month suicide behavior among junior high school students in the greater Accra region of Ghana

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Abstract

Aim

In Ghana, we know little about the epidemiology of suicide ideation, plan and attempts among junior high school (JHS) students in Ghana including the years preceding high school. This study explores the onset, characteristics, and recent patterns of 12-month suicide behavior among Ghanaian junior high school (JHS) students.

Materials and Methods

Paper-based surveys were administered to a sample (n = 800) of junior high school students in the Greater Accra region of Ghana. Self-reported measures on suicide ideation, plan and attempt as well as several psychological and psychosocial factors related to mental health, substance use, poverty, sexual behavior, interpersonal relationships, and family structure were employed. Bi-variate, multivariate and logistic regression analyses were performed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS version 25).

Results

This study found that 1 out of 5 adolescents have experienced suicide ideation in the last 12 months. Girls had significantly higher 12-month (χ2 = 3.5, p < 0.05) suicide ideation rates than boys. More importantly, the study found stress significantly increasing the odds of suicide behaviors in the last 12 months (β = 1.14; CI = 1.05–1.24, p < 0.05) and parental support significantly reducing the odds of suicide behaviors in the last 12 months (β = 0.86; CI = 0.81–0.91, p < 0.05). Additionally, we found significant associations between sexual intercourse, dating, hunger, substance use, suicide stigma and suicide behaviors.

Conclusion

This finding highlights a potential emerging suicide crisis among preteens which warrants attention. Additional studies are needed to observe these increasing trends and identify risk, protective and precipitating factors to help prevent suicide among these children.

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Funding

This research was funded by the West African Research Association and the Brown School at Washington University in St Louis.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychiatry, Saint Louis University Medical School, 1438 S Grand Blvd, St. Louis, MO, 63104, USA

    Azasu Enoch Kordjo

  2. Department of Psychology, University of Ghana, Legon, Accra, Ghana

    Emmanuel Nii-Boye Quarshie

  3. Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience, Saint Louis University School of Medicine, St Louis, MO, USA

    Erick Messias

  4. 37 Military Hospital Association, Accra, Ghana

    Marcus Larnyoh

  5. Department of Public Health, University of Health and Allied Sciences, Ho, Ghana

    Elizabeth Ali

  6. Brown School of Social Work, Washington University in St Louis, St Louis, MO, USA

    Sean Joe

Authors
  1. Azasu Enoch Kordjo
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  2. Emmanuel Nii-Boye Quarshie
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  3. Erick Messias
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  4. Marcus Larnyoh
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  5. Elizabeth Ali
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  6. Sean Joe
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Contributions

All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation, data collection and analysis were performed by Enoch Azasu. The contributions to the manuscript are as follows: Introduction: Enoch, Erick, Sean, Emmanuel, Marcus, Elizabeth; Methods: Enoch, Sean, Emmanuel; Results: Enoch, Erick, Emmanuel; Discussion: Enoch, Erick, Sean, Emmanuel, Marcus, Elizabeth. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Azasu Enoch Kordjo.

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Conflict of interest

The authors have no financial interests or potential conflicts of interest to disclose as far as this article is concerned. This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors. The sponsors were not involved in the design or completion of the study or manuscript.

Ethical approval

The questionnaire and methodology for this study was approved by the Human Research Ethics committee of Washington University in St Louis (IRB # 202207150).

Consent to participate

Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study including that of legal guardians.

Consent to publish

No identifying information was published in this article as this was just a cross-sectional study.

Data availability

The data for this study cannot be shared as part of the approval policy by the Human Research Ethics committee of Washington University in St Louis (IRB # 202207150).

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Azasu, E.K., Quarshie, E.NB., Messias, E. et al. Psychological and socio-ecological correlates of 12-month suicide behavior among junior high school students in the greater Accra region of Ghana. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00127-024-02613-5

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