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Suicidal Ideation and Its Correlates Among Adolescents in Trinidad and Tobago

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Abstract

Suicide deaths, attempts, and ideation among minoritized adolescents are a global public health concern that is often inadequately addressed. Research is limited on suicide-related behaviors among adolescents in many developing countries, specifically in the Anglophone Caribbean, like the small island state of Trinidad and Tobago. This study aims to identify the prevalence and correlates of suicidal ideation among adolescents in Trinidad and Tobago. This is a secondary data analysis of a nationally representative sample of high school students (n = 3840) from Trinidad and Tobago using the Global School-Based Student Health Survey in 2017. Multivariate logistic regression assessed the association between correlates (e.g., gender, anxiety) and suicidal ideation in the past 12 months. The study found that 22.2% (16% males and 28% females) reported experiencing suicidal ideation during the past 12 months. In multivariate analyses, variables associated with higher odds for suicidal ideation were anxiety (OR 2.69, p < .001, 95% CI 2.08, 3.48), loneliness (OR 2.47, p < .001, 95% CI 1.91, 3.19), being bullied (OR 2.02, p < .001 CI 1.56, 2.59), and marijuana use (OR 2.20, p < .001, 95% CI 1.58, 3.06). Youth reporting parental understanding were half as likely to report suicidal ideation as their counterparts (OR .53, p < .001, 95% CI .42, .67). The findings highlight the need to implement school-based suicide prevention and intervention, employ more school social workers, and provide psychoeducation to parents to help them better understand suicidal ideation.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the Ministry of Health in Trinidad and Tobago, in collaboration with the World Health Organization, which conducted the Global School-Based Student Health Survey (GSHS) and made the dataset and report available online.

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  1. Graduate School of Social Work, University of Denver, 2148 S High Street, Office 432, Denver, CO, 80208, USA

    Akeem Modeste-James, Stacey Freedenthal & Jennifer L. Bellamy

  2. Department of Behavioural Sciences, The University of the West Indies, Carmody Road Rm. #2, St. Augustine Campus, St. Augustine, Trinidad and Tobago

    Camille Huggins

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Modeste-James, A., Huggins, C., Freedenthal, S. et al. Suicidal Ideation and Its Correlates Among Adolescents in Trinidad and Tobago. Child Adolesc Soc Work J (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10560-023-00953-w

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