suicidal expressions among young people in nicaragua and cambodia a cross-cultural study年轻人自杀的表达式在尼加拉瓜和柬埔寨的跨文化研究.pdf

Medina et al. BMC Psychiatry 2012, 12:28 /1471-244X/12/28 RESEARCH ARTICLE Open Access Suicidal expressions among young people in Nicaragua and Cambodia: a cross-cultural study 1 2 3 4* Claudia Obando Medina , Bhoomikumar Jegannathan , Kjerstin Dahlblom and Gunnar Kullgren Abstract Background: Whereas prevalence of suicidal expressions among young people is fairly similar in different countries, less is known about associated risk factors. This study compares young people in Nicaragua and Cambodia to examine if the pattern of association between mental health problems and suicidal expressions differs. Methods: 368 and 316 secondary school students, from each country respectively, participated. Self-reported suicidal expressions, exposure to suicidal behavior in significant others and mental health problems among the students were measured using Attitude Towards Suicide (ATTS) and the Youth Self-Report (YSR) questionnaires. Results: Prevalence of serious suicidal expressions (plans and attempts) during recent year, did not differ between countries. Cambodian young people scored significantly higher on all eight YSR-syndromes, except for withdrawn/ depressed. In Nicaragua, all YSR-syndromes were significantly associated with serious suicidal expressions in both genders compared to Cambodia where only one syndrome showed an association in each gender; Withdrawn/ depressed among girls and Somatic complaints among boys. Associations between being exposed to suicide among significant others and serious suicidal expressions also differed between Cambodia and Nicaragua. Conclusions: While the magnitude of serious suicidal expressions is similar between these structurally similar b