Suicidal ideation, suicide attempts and positive mental health in Chinese medical students

Introduction: Students worldwide are at marked risk of suicidal ideation/behavior, depression, and low positive mental health (PMH). Medical students are suspected to be a particularly burdened group. On this background, the aim of the present study was to determine prevalence rates of suicidal ideation/behavior, depression and PMH, among Chinese medical students compared to students from other disciplines. Methods: A total of 2,695 Chinese students (41.2% women;age: M = 18.86, SD = .60, range: 18–21), including 461 medical students, filled out self-report measures on suicidal ideation/behavior, depression, and PMH. Results: Twelve-month suicidal ideation was reported by 10.2% of the medical students and by 11.5% of the other students. Medical students had significantly lower levels of depression symptoms and significantly higher levels of PMH than students from other disciplines. Complete mental health – according to the dual-factor model of mental health – was reported by more than 84% of the total sample. Limitations: Data were assessed by a self-report survey that is prone to social desirability. Conclusions: Students in the present study displayed high rates of complete mental health – although the survey was conducted in the midst of the Corona pandemic. No evidence was found that medical students are particularly stressed. © 2022

Suicidal ideation and behavior during COVID-19 pandemic

During the COVID-19 pandemic, there was an increase of psychosocial stressor and thus suicidal ideation and behavior. However, there was no identifiable increase in suicides in Germany and other developed countries in 2020, although there is some indication that this different for certain regions and subgroups. This article summarizes studies and meta-analyses on suicides, suicidal ideation, and suicide attempts in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Given that the pandemic is highly dynamic, the generalizability of all findings for the further course of the pandemic is severely limited. The pandemic-related burden on adolescents and young adults should be emphasized. Further development is unclear, as stressors persist.