The prevalence and association of adverse childhood experiences with suicide risk behaviors among adolescents and youth in Zimbabwe

Suicide poses a significant public health concern, particularly among adolescents and youth exposed to adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). However, little research exists on understanding ACEs’ prevalence and suicidality consequences in Zimbabwe. Therefore, this study examined the prevalence and association between individual and cumulative ACEs with suicide risk among adolescents and youth in Zimbabwe. The study utilized data from the 2017 Zimbabwe Violence Against Children Survey (ZVACS) for males and females aged 13 to 24 (N = 8,715). Prevalence estimates were determined using chi-square tests, and four logistic regression models were employed to assess the association between individual and cumulative ACEs with suicide risk. 31.8% of the participants reported lifetime suicidal ideations or attempts. Participants who experienced emotional violence (69.1%), sexual violence (58.4%), witnessed community violence (47.0%), witnessed physical violence (53.2%), experienced physical violence (44.6%), orphaned (38.8%) and experienced cumulative ACEs (35.3%) reported lifetime suicidal ideations or attempts. Similarly, experiencing individual ACEs (physical and sexual violence, witnessing physical and community violence, and being orphaned) and cumulative ACEs were significantly associated with a higher risk of reporting lifetime suicidal ideations or attempts among the participants in the regression models. These findings underscore the importance of implementing strategies for preventing ACEs and suicide risk behaviors and enforcing effective child welfare policies. Future research should conduct longitudinal designs to investigate the specific ACEs that contribute most strongly to increased suicide risk among adolescents and youth in Zimbabwe.