Dataset Information

Suicidality among Chinese college students: A cross-sectional study across seven provinces.

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND:Although the suicide rate in China has decreased over the past 20 years, there have been reports that the younger age group has been experiencing an increased incidence of completed suicide. Given that undergraduate groups are at higher risks of suicidality, it is important to monitor and screen for risk factors for suicidal ideation and behaviors to ensure their well-being. OBJECTIVE:To examine the risk and protective factors contributing to suicidality among undergraduate college students in seven provinces in China. METHODS:We conducted a cross-sectional study involving 13,387 college students from seven universities in Ningxia, Shandong, Shanghai, Jilin, Qinghai, Shaanxi, and Xinjiang. Data were collected using self-report questionnaires. RESULTS:Higher scores in the psychological strain, depression, anxiety, stress, and psychache (psychological risk factors for suicidality) and lower scores in self-esteem and purpose in life (psychological protective factors against suicidality) were associated with increased suicidality among undergraduate students in China. Demographic factors which were associated with higher risks of suicidality were female gender, younger age, bad academic results, were an only child, non-participation in school associations, and had an urban household registration. Perceived good health was protective against suicidality. CONCLUSIONS:Knowing the common risk and protective factors for suicidality among Chinese undergraduate students is useful in developing interventions targeted at this population and to guide public health policies on suicide in China.

SUBMITTER: Lew B

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7444487 | biostudies-literature | 2020

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Suicidality among Chinese college students: A cross-sectional study across seven provinces.

Lew Bob B Kõlves Kairi K Osman Augustine A Abu Talib Mansor M Ibrahim Norhayati N Siau Ching Sin CS Chan Caryn Mei Hsien CMH

PloS one 20200821 8

<h4>Background</h4>Although the suicide rate in China has decreased over the past 20 years, there have been reports that the younger age group has been experiencing an increased incidence of completed suicide. Given that undergraduate groups are at higher risks of suicidality, it is important to monitor and screen for risk factors for suicidal ideation and behaviors to ensure their well-being.<h4>Objective</h4>To examine the risk and protective factors contributing to suicidality among undergrad ...[more]

PMID: 32822365

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Project description:BackgroundSeveral past studies indicated that religious beliefs, orientation, and practice are protective of suicide. Findings from recent studies in China suggest that religiosity may contribute to increased suicidality. However, few studies have examined the associations between religious affiliation across different faiths and suicidality in China.ObjectiveThe current study examines the association between religious affiliation and suicidality among college students in six provinces in China.MethodsWe conducted a cross-sectional study involving 11,407 college students from six universities in Ningxia, Shandong, Shanghai, Jilin, Qinghai, and Shaanxi. We collected the data between October 2017 and March 2018 using self-report questionnaires. They included self-report measures of depression, psychache, hopelessness, self-esteem, social support, and life purpose.ResultsParticipants with a Christian affiliation had 1.5 times (95% CI: 1.14, 1.99, p = 0.004) higher odds of indicating an elevated suicide risk, 3.1 times (95% CI: 1.90, 5.04, p<0.001) higher odds of indicating a previous suicide attempt, and increased overall suicidality (B = 0.105, p < 0.001) after accounting for demographic and risk/protective factors. Christians also scored the highest in depression, psychache, hopelessness, and the lowest social support, self-esteem, and purpose in life. Muslims reported decreased suicidality (B = -0.034, p = 0.031). Buddhism/Daoism yielded non-significant results in the multivariate analyses.ConclusionsChristian college students reported increased suicidality levels, perhaps due to public policies on religion. The decreased suicidality levels among Muslims may be attributed to higher perceived social support. The associations between religious affiliation and suicidality, depression, and hopelessness contrast sharply with US samples. This finding may be influenced by interactions between the religious denomination, individual, and social/political factors. This conclusion includes the possibility of anti-religious discrimination, which this paper did not investigate as a possible mediator and therefore remains a conjecture worthy of future investigation.

Project description:BackgroundResearch suggests that Chinese religious believers are more likely to commit suicide than those identifying as non-religious among rural young adults, contrary to findings in Western countries. However, one cannot conclude that religiosity is associated with elevated suicide risk without examining the effect of political and religious beliefs in a generally atheist country like China where political belief plays a dominant role in the belief system of young adults. The present study investigated the effects of political and religious belief on suicidality with meaningfulness and psychopathology as potential mediators in a large representative sample of Chinese college students.MethodsA cross-sectional survey was conducted among 1390 first-year college students randomly sampled from 10 colleges and universities in mainland China.ResultsA total of 1168 respondents (84.0%) provided complete data on all variables. Lifetime prevalence of suicidal ideation, plan, and attempt were 45.1%, 6.8%, and 1.9% respectively, with one-year suicidal ideation showing at 19.3%. Female gender was associated with elevated risk of suicidality. Political belief but not religious belief was associated with decreased suicide risk. A significant interactive effect of political belief and religious belief was found, indicating that for political believers, being religious was associated with decreased suicide risk; for non-political believers, being religious was associated with increased suicide risk. Multi-group structural equation modeling showed that meaningfulness completely mediated and psychopathology partially mediated the effect of belief system on suicidality. Gender differences were found in pathways of political belief by religious beliefs to suicidality and political belief to psychopathology. The coefficients were significant for males but not for females.ConclusionsIn less religious societies, political belief may serve as a means of integration as does religious affiliation in religious societies. Males were more likely to benefit from the protective effect of a belief system on suicidality than females.

Project description:BackgroundChinese youth have become more sexually active over the years, yet their behaviours of contraceptive use are influenced by socioeconomic and lifestyle factors. This study aimed to investigate the socioeconomic and lifestyle determinants of contraceptive use among Chinese college students, and to investigate quantitatively their reasons for choosing different contraceptive methods.MethodsThe study used the data from a cross-sectional survey, which was conducted in 2015 among 17,517 students from 130 colleges and professional schools in mainland China. Chi-square tests were performed to test the differences in the awareness and uses of contraceptives between male and female students. Multivariable logistic regression models were used to analyse the associations between socioeconomic and lifestyle factors and contraceptive uses.ResultsCondoms (95%), oral contraceptives (91%) and emergency contraceptives (71%) were the most commonly known contraceptive methods among the sample of Chinese youth that were surveyed. Among male participants, high monthly expenditure (OR = 1.37, 95%CI: 1.07-1.75), light alcohol consumption (OR = 1.47, 95%CI: 1.03-2.11), and high sexual knowledge (OR = 1.96, 95%CI: 1.57-2.45) were positively associated with contraceptive uses, while tobacco use (OR = 0.47, 95%CI: 0.23-0.95) showed a negative association with contraceptive uses. Among female students, suburban residency (OR = 1.38, 95%CI: 1.03-1.83), high level of parental education (OR = 1.96, 95%CI: 1.19-3.22), moderate alcohol consumption (OR = 2.66, 95%CI: 1.05-6.77), and high sexual knowledge (OR = 1.50, 95%CI: 1.18-1.91) were positively associated with contraceptive uses, while tobacco use (OR = 0.60, 95%CI: 0.36-0.99) showed a negative association.ConclusionsA series of socioeconomic and lifestyle factors were associated with contraceptive choices among Chinese college students. Targeted sexual education programs are in demand to improve the awareness and the use of contraceptives in this population.

Project description:BACKGROUND:Existing studies reporting on the levels of physical fitness among college students used relatively few fitness tests as a reflection of physical fitness, which could not comprehensively evaluate the levels of physical fitness. Thus, the current study aimed to investigate the cross-sectional relationship between body mass index (BMI) and a physical fitness index (PFI) based on six indicators of fitness in Chinese college students. METHOD:Anthropometric measurements and six measures of physical fitness (Vital capacity, 50-m sprint, sit and reach, standing long jump, 800/1000-m run, pull-up/bent-leg sit-up) were measured. BMI was calculated to classify individuals into underweight, normal weight, overweight, and obesity groups. Z-scores based on sex-specific mean and standard deviation were calculated, and the sum of z-scores for the six fitness tests was used as a PFI. Three models (a linear regression model, polynomial regression model with a second-order BMI term and a restricted cubic spline regression model) were fitted to discuss the potential relation between BMI and PFI. We compared the models using Akaike Information Criterion (AIC) and R square. RESULTS:Totally, 8548 freshmen from the years 2014 to 2016 in a medical college completed the physical fitness tests. There was a decreasing trend of physical fitness index from the years 2014 to 2016 (P for trend <?0.01). More male than female students were overweight or obese (23.5% vs. 11.9%), but more female than male students were normal weight (74.7% vs. 64.8%). A restricted cubic spline regression model was superior to linear and polynomial regression model with lower AIC and higher R square. CONCLUSIONS:The relationships between BMI and PFI in college students were non-linear. Underweight, overweight and obese students had poorer performance in physical fitness index than normal weight students. Future prospective, longitudinal cohort studies to identify the causal relations and potential mechanism in a good manner are required.

Project description:Skipping breakfast has been suggested to increase the risk of depressive symptoms, but there is no information regarding young adults. We aimed to investigate the relationship between the frequency of breakfast consumption and the risk of depressive symptoms among Chinese college students. We investigated a cross-sectional (n = 1060) and one-year prospective (n = 757) relationship between the frequency of breakfast consumption and the risk of depressive symptoms. The frequency of breakfast consumption was categorized into "≤1 time/week", "2-5 times/week", or "≥6 times/week". Depressive symptoms were assessed using the 20-item Zung self-rating depression scale (SDS) with an SDS score of ≥50 to indicate moderate to severe depressive symptoms. In the cross-sectional analysis, the adjusted odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) of depressive symptoms related with the breakfast consumption categories were 1.00 (reference) for ≥6 times/week, 1.761 (95% CI: 1.131, 2.742) for 2-5 times/week, and 3.780 (95% CI: 1.719, 8.311) for ≤1 time/week (p for trend: <0.001) after adjusting for these potential confounders. Similarly, in the one-year prospective analysis, we found that 10.2% of participants was classified as having moderate to severe depressive symptoms. Multivariate logistic regressions analysis revealed a significant negative relationship between the frequency of breakfast consumption and the risk of depressive symptoms. The ORs (95% CI) for depressive symptoms with decreasing breakfast consumption frequency were 1.00 (reference) for ≥6 times/week, 2.045 (1.198, 3.491) for 2-5 times/week, and 2.722 (0.941, 7.872) for ≤1 time/week (p for trend: 0.005). This one-year prospective cohort study showed that skipping breakfast is related to increased risk of depressive symptoms among Chinese college students. Future research using interventional or experimental studies is required to explore the causal relationship between the effects of breakfast consumption and depressive symptoms.

Project description:Background:The body of literature regarding the associations between physical activity and psychological problems lacks consensus. Moreover, the role of gender has been scarcely investigated. The present study sought to fill the gap in the data by examining the associations, if any, between moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA), psychological problems, and self-harm behaviors based on different biological genders (male-female). Methods:A self-administered questionnaire was used to measure MVPA and multiple psychological problems, including depression and anxiety; general emotion, behavior, and social problems; Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD); Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD); conduct problems; and self-harm behaviors. Participants were a nationally representative sample of Chinese high school students (N = 13, 349). A multiple logistic regression analysis of MVPA, stratified by gender, was conducted on the risk of psychological problems and self-harm behaviors in the total sample. Results:For boys, a high frequency of MVPA was associated with a lower risk of depression (OR = 0.68, 95% CI [0.57-0.81]) and anxiety (OR = 0.71, 95% CI [0.53-0.96]) compared to the reference group. The moderate frequency of MVPA was associated with a lower risk of ADHD (OR = 0.73, 95% CI [0.56-0.94]) compared to the reference group. For girls, both MVPA groups were associated with a lower risk of depression (moderate MVPA: OR = 0.81, 95% CI [0.70-0.94]; high MVPA: OR = 0.67, 95% CI [0.54-0.83]) compared to the reference group. High MVPA was associated with a lower risk of ADHD (OR = 0.58, 95% CI [0.37-0.89]) compared to the reference group. Only moderate frequency of MVPA was associated with a lower risk of ODD (OR = 0.79, 95% CI [0.64-0.97]). Conclusion:MVPA was associated with a lower risk of depression, anxiety, ADHD, and ODD in a gender-specific and MVPA frequency-specific manner. This implies that for specific psychological issues, PA interventions that are modified based on gender and frequency of MVPA may be more effective than PA interventions without these considerations.

Project description:BACKGROUND:Electronic health (eHealth) literacy has become an important topic in health fields. Studies have found that individuals with higher eHealth literacy are more likely to use preventive care services and to have effective interactions with their physicians. In addition, previous studies have revealed a gender difference in the utilization of physician access and outpatient services. Nevertheless, few studies have explored the effect of the three levels of eHealth literacy (functional, interactive, and critical levels) on the four aspects of health services utilization (type, site, purpose, and time interval). It is unclear whether the associations between these three levels of eHealth literacy and the four aspects of health services utilization among college students are positive or negative. OBJECTIVE:The objective of this study was to investigate the associations among gender, eHealth literacy, and health services utilization. METHODS:We used the eHealth Literacy Scale, a 12-item instrument designed to measure college students' functional, interactive, and critical eHealth literacy, and the Health Services Utilization Scale, which is a 10-item instrument developed to measure the four aspects of health services utilization by college students. A nationally representative sample of 489 college students in Taiwan was surveyed. We conducted multiple regression analysis to examine the associations among gender, eHealth literacy, and health services utilization. RESULTS:The study found that being female was negatively related to the purpose aspect of health services utilization (t487=-2.85, P<.01). However, the R2 value of gender on the purpose aspect was low enough to be ignored. Critical (t484=2.98-4.23, P<.01) and interactive eHealth literacy (t484=2.43-2.89, P<.05) were related to three aspects of the health services utilization, and functional eHealth literacy was related to the purpose aspect (t484=-4.99, P<.001). CONCLUSIONS:This study showed that Taiwanese college students with interactive eHealth literacy were more likely to have a higher rate of outpatient care use. Moreover, Taiwanese college students with critical eHealth literacy were more likely to make full use of health services than those with functional eHealth literacy. Finally, the educated and age-restricted sample may attenuate gender disparities in health services utilization among Taiwanese college students.

Dataset Information

Suicidality among Chinese college students: A cross-sectional study across seven provinces.

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Suicidality among Chinese college students: A cross-sectional study across seven provinces.

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