Premium
Gender differences in exposure and vulnerability to psychosocial and behavioral factors of suicide attempt among Korean adolescents
Author(s) -
Jeon GyeongSuk,
Choi Kyungwon,
Cho Sungil
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
asia‐pacific psychiatry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.654
H-Index - 21
eISSN - 1758-5872
pISSN - 1758-5864
DOI - 10.1111/appy.12272
Subject(s) - psychosocial , vulnerability (computing) , psychology , feeling , logistic regression , suicide prevention , clinical psychology , depression (economics) , injury prevention , poison control , medicine , demography , psychiatry , environmental health , social psychology , computer security , sociology , computer science , economics , macroeconomics
This study examined gender differences in suicide attempts and their association with exposure and vulnerability to psychosocial, behavioral, and structural factors among Korean adolescents. Methods Data of 74 854 adolescents, taken from the 2010 Korea Youth Risk Behavior Survey, were used. Logistic regression analysis was used to assess the contribution of differential exposure to psychosocial, behavioral, and structural factors for gender differences of suicidal attempt. Results Gender differences were observed in the degree of exposure to the various factors. Females were more likely to report psychosocial problems, whereas males were more likely to report experience of smoking and drinking alcohol and to engage in vigorous physical activity. Stress and unhappiness were significantly associated with suicide attempts in both males and females, and gender differences in these variables were nonsignificant. Depressive symptoms were associated with a higher risk of suicide attempts, and this relationship was significantly stronger for males. The effects of cigarette smoking and risky drinking were significantly stronger in females. Discussion Greater exposure to perceived stress, feelings of unhappiness, depression, and higher vulnerability of smoking and heavy drinking accounted for higher suicide attempts of female adolescents. Higher exposure to health‐related behaviors and greater vulnerability to depressive symptoms in male were also noted. In conclusion, differences in exposure and vulnerability to psychosocial and behavioral factors may partly explain gender differences in suicide attempts among Korean adolescents.