Background
Suicide is becoming a
public health problem and this act starts with suicidal ideation that is
increasing amongst the younger age group, particularly students. However,
little is known about this problem amongst medical students in India
Method
A cross sectional study was carried out on 265
undergraduate students of a medical college in Delhi using pre-tested and
self-administered questionnaire consist of socio-demographic profile, risk
factors for suicide, and a validated scale to assess suicidal ideation and
thought. Analysis was done using Microsoft Excel and WHO EPI-INFO 2005.
Results
The prevalence of suicidal ideation amongst
medical students was 53.6%. Although everybody was aware of the meaning of
suicide and the damage that it could cause to the individual and family, still
4.9% students seriously contemplated suicide and 2.6% have attempted suicide at
least once in their life. Suicidal ideation was highest in first professional
year medical students (64.4%) and lowest among the third professional year students
(40.4%). Suicidal ideation was significantly associated with “impulsive or
reckless behaviour in difficult situations” with 70.9% of the students showing
reckless behaviour also having suicidal ideation compared to 30.7% not having
such behaviour. Also, a significant association between the feeling of “it’s
all too much to manage” and suicidal ideation was observed, with 78% of the
students having this feeling also found to be having suicidal ideation as
compared to 4.5% of those without this feeling.
A significant association was found between gender suicidal
ideation. Also a significant association was found between the feeling of being
“better off dead” and “non-working mothers”.
However, no association of suicidal ideation or attempted suicides was
found with age, father’s education, and father’s occupation.
Conclusion
High prevalence of suicidal ideation amongst
medical students suggests that there is an urgent need for a mental health
program for medical students that provides counseling services and creates more
opportunities for recreational activities.
Authors: Abhinav Goyal, Jugal Kishore, Tanu Anand,
Akanksha Rathi
Journal of Mental health and human behavior 2012; 17 (1): 60-69; ipsnz.org/journal%20march_2012/8_org_article3.pdf
No comments:
Post a Comment