Suicidal ideation, risk factors, and communication with parents: An HBSC study on school children in Estonia, Lithuania, and Luxembourg

Background: Suicide is a leading cause of death among youth. In the year 2002, Lithuania had the 2nd, Luxembourg the 5th, and Estonia the 9th highest suicide rates among 15- to 19-year-olds across 90 countries worldwide. Suicidal ideation is a significant precursor to suicide.

Aims: To report on the prevalence of and associations between suicidal ideation, smoking, alcohol consumption, physical fighting, bullying, and communication with parents among 15-year-old schoolchildren.

Methods: The survey analyzes data from the 2005/2006 HBSC study from Estonia, Lithuania, and Luxembourg (N = 4,954). The risk factors were calculated through multinomial logistic regression analyses.

Results: The overall prevalence of suicidal ideation in the preceding year was 17%. Suicidal thoughts were associated with communication difficulties with parents (OR from 2.0 to 4.6) and other risk factors, especially multiple risks (OR for 4-5 concurrent risk factors from 4.5 to 13.6). Parent-child communication had a significant mediating effect by decreasing the odds for suicidality and multiple risks.

Limitations: The prevalence estimates were obtained by self-reports. The causal relationships need further investigation.

Conclusion: The risk factors studied, particularly multiple risks, were associated with higher odds for suicidal ideation. Good parent-child communication is a significant resource for decreasing suicidal ideation among adolescents.