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Background: Longitudinal evidence about risk and protective factors for suicidal ideation among university students is limited.Methods: 12-month first-onset and persistence of suicidal ideation (SI) among Spanish first-year university students were estimated using baseline (T1) and 12-month follow-up (T2) online surveys. Information about STBs, childhood/adolescence adversities, positive relationships, mental disorders, recent stressful experiences, and university sense of membership was assessed. Logistic regression analysis was used to study risk/protective factors of first-onset and persistence of suicidal ideation (SI).Results: A total of 1,248 respondents (58.9% response) were included. Mean age at baseline was 18.7 (SD = 1.3) and 56.0% were female. 7.3% reported 12-month SI at T2. Incidence of new SI cases was 3.4% and, among students with SI at T1, 21.2% also reported SI at T2 (persistence). Risk factors of T2 SI included 12-month mood disorder at T2 both without (aOR = 12.08 95% CI 5.45-26.80) or with (aOR = 7.2 95% CI 2.91-17.80) lifetime mood at T1, past lifetime suicide attempt (aOR = 8.79 95% CI 2.37-32.64) and plan without attempt (aOR = 4.72 95% CI 2.32-9.61), and 12-month physical or sexual assault (aOR = 3.28 95% CI 1.13-9.46). Twelve-month mood at T2 withoutT1 lifetime mood (aOR = 11.27 95% CI 3.02-42.14) and childhood/adolescence emotional abuse or neglect (aOR = 3.41 95% CI 1.10-10.57) or having been bullied (aOR = 3.2 95% CI 1.08-9.53) were associated with first-onset of SI. Twelve-month mood at T2 either without (aOR = 13.92 95% CI 3.76-51.59) or with (aOR = 8.03 95% CI 2.13-30.29) were associated to T2 SI persistence. University sense of membership was protective for overall 12-month SI at T2 (aOR = 0.25 95% CI 0.12-0.53 for middle tertile), first-onset SI (aOR = 0.1 95% 0.02-0.55 for middle tertile) and persistence (aOR = 0.3 95% CI 0.11-0.81 for middle tertile).Limitations: Analysis was based on self-report data focusing on SI only, and conclusions about the direction of the associations are limited.Conclusions: High proportion of SI suggests the need of suicide prevention strategies. The potential role of university sense of membership in reducing suicidal behaviour among university students deserves further investigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Suicide is one of the leading causes of death among adolescents, and developing effective methods to improve short-term prediction of suicidal thoughts and behaviors (STBs) is critical. Currently, the most robust predictors of STBs are demographic or clinical indicators that have relatively weak predictive value. However, there is an emerging literature on short-term prediction of suicide risk that has identified a number of promising candidates, including (but not limited to) rapid escalation of: (a) emotional distress, (b) social dysfunction (e.g., bullying, rejection), and (c) sleep disturbance. However, these prior studies are limited in two critical ways. First, they rely almost entirely on self-report. Second, most studies have not focused on assessment of these risk factors using intensive longitudinal assessment techniques that are able to capture the dynamics of changes in risk states at the individual level.Method: In this paper we explore how to capitalize on recent developments in real-time monitoring methods and computational analysis in order to address these fundamental problems.Results: We now have the capacity to use: (a) smartphone, wearable computing, and smart home technology to conduct intensive longitudinal assessments monitoring of putative risk factors with minimal participant burden and (b) modern computational techniques to develop predictive algorithms for STBs. Current research and theory on short-term risk processes for STBs, combined with the emergent capabilities of new technologies, suggest that this is an important research agenda for the future.Limitations: Although these approaches have enormous potential to create new knowledge, the current empirical literature is limited. Moreover, passive monitoring of risk for STBs raises complex ethical issues that will need to be resolved before large scale clinical applications are feasible.Conclusions: Smartphone, wearable, and smart home technology may provide one point of access that might facilitate both early identification and intervention implementation, and thus, represents a key area for future STB research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]