Wu, Yedong;
Coulibaly, Souleymane Papa;
Sidibe, Aissata Mahamadou;
Hesketh, Therese;
(2022)
Self-Harm, Suicidal Ideation and Attempts among School-Attending Adolescents in Bamako, Mali.
Children
, 9
(4)
, Article 542. 10.3390/children9040542.
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Abstract
Suicide and self-harm are major public health concerns for adolescents globally, but there is a dearth of related research in West Africa. This study aims to examine the prevalence and associated factors for self-harm, suicidal ideation and suicide attempts among adolescents in the West African country of Mali. A questionnaire survey was conducted among adolescents attending school or university in August 2019 in Bamako, the capital of Mali. Logistical constraints necessitated convenience sampling. Outcome measures were self-harm and suicide ideation and attempts. Predictor variables included sociodemographic characteristics, bullying and mental health problems. There were 606 respondents who completed questionnaires; their mean age was 16.1 (SD = 2.4); 318 (52.5%) were identified as male; and 44.4% reported self-harm at some point in their life, with 21% reporting suicide ideation and 9.7% actual suicide attempts. For all three outcomes, older age, knowing somebody personally who had experienced self-harm or taken their own life, moderate to severe depression or anxiety, and being a victim of bullying were highly significant risk factors for self-harm, suicidal ideation and suicide attempts in these adolescents, while high self-esteem decreased the risk. The study suggests that self-harm and suicidal behaviour are relatively common in Malian adolescents who are still in education. However, much more research is needed to better understand this phenomenon.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | Self-Harm, Suicidal Ideation and Attempts among School-Attending Adolescents in Bamako, Mali |
| Location: | Switzerland |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.3390/children9040542 |
| Publisher version: | https://doi.org/10.3390/children9040542 |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | © 2022 MDPI. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). |
| Keywords: | adolescence; self-harm; suicide; suicide ideation; suicide attempts; depression; anxiety; adolescents; Mali |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Population Health Sciences > Institute for Global Health UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10148175 |
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