Search

Restrictive measures during the COVID-19 epidemic have led to increased levels of loneliness, especially among university students, although the influence on suicidal thoughts remains unclear. In this cross-sectional study of 1913 French university students, those with the highest level of loneliness had a fourfold increased risk of suicidal thoughts. Perceived loneliness should be incorporated into suicide risk assessment, and assistance in coping with loneliness should be considered as a means of reducing suicidal risk in vulnerable groups, like university students., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

The association between Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and suicidal ideation has been the focus of recent research interest among youths and young adults. However, the role perceived stress plays in this association is unclear. We investigated whether perceived stress accounts for the association between ADHD and subsequent suicidal ideation among French students enrolled in the i-Share cohort. The associations between ADHD symptoms, perceived stress at baseline, and suicidal ideation during follow-up were investigated using logistic regression models, and Structural Equation Modeling was used to estimate the indirect effect via perceived stress. In total 4333 participants (median age: 20.3 years; [interquartile range: 18.7-21.8]) were included in the main analyses. ADHD was associated with suicidal ideation (adjusted Odds Ratio = 1.15 [95% Confidence Interval: 1.04-1.26]). Perceived stress partially accounts for the association between ADHD and suicidal ideation (proportion explained 49%). Our study suggests that ADHD and perceived stress represent mental health targets for suicide prevention programs., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Background: Suicidal ideation and suicidal risk assessment are major concerns for health professionals. The perception of a low level of parental support is a risk factor for suicidal tendencies among adolescents, but little is known about its long-term impact on the vulnerability to suicidal behavior in young adults. We investigated whether the perceived level of parental support during childhood and adolescence was associated with current suicidal ideation in young adults., Methods: We retrieved data collected in the i-Share study from February 1st, 2013 through January 30, 2017. This cross-sectional study included 10,015 French students, aged 18-24 years that completed an on-line self-reported questionnaire about suicidal ideation in the last 12 months and their perceived parental support in childhood and adolescence. We performed multinomial logistic regressions and sensitivity analyses to assess associations between the degree of perceived parental support and the frequency suicidal thoughts, after adjusting for the main known risk factors of suicidal ideation. We employed multiple imputations to account for missing data., Results: The study sample included 7539 female (75.7%) and 2436 male (24.3%) students (mean [SD] age 20.0 [1.8] years). About one in five students reported occasional suicidal thoughts (n = 1775, 17.7%) and 368 students (3.7%) reported frequent suicidal thoughts. The adjusted multinomial logistic regression revealed a significant negative association between perceived parental support and suicidal thoughts. A lack of perceived parental support in childhood and adolescence was associated with > 4-fold elevated risk of occasional (adjusted OR, 4.55; 95% CI: 2.97-6.99) and nearly 9-fold elevated risk of frequent (adjusted OR, 8.58; 95% CI: 4.62-15.96) suicidal thoughts, compared to individuals that perceived extremely strong parental support. This association was strongest among students with no personal history of depression or suicide attempts., Conclusions: Students that perceived low levels of past parental support had a higher risk of suicidal ideation. Past perceived parental support appeared to be a potent marker of suicidal risk in young adults. This marker should be routinely collected in studies on suicidal risk in young adults, and it could be considered an additional screening tool.