Lifetime prevalence of and risk factors for suicidal ideation and suicide attempts in a Korean community sample.

OBJECTIVES: Our study evaluated the lifetime prevalence of and risk factors for suicidal ideation and suicide attempts in Jeollabuk-do Province, Korea. METHOD: Participants were selected from the population of individuals aged 13-100 years living Jeollabuk-do Province, Korea. A total of 2,964 subjects provided information about lifetime suicidal behavior and sociodemographic and psychological characteristics, completing the Zung Depression Scale, the Scale for Suicidal Ideation, the Multidimensional Anger Inventory, and the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale. RESULTS: The lifetime prevalence of suicidal ideation and suicide attempts, 24.8% and 6.2%, respectively, were higher than in previous studies. Multivariate regression revealed that family harmony had the highest odds ratio of all variables, including psychological factors. Along with depression and self-esteem, anger--which is the basic symptom of the Korean culture-related anger syndrome, Hwa-byung--was significantly associated with lifetime suicidal behavior. CONCLUSIONS: Lifetime suicidal behavior was highly prevalent in Jeollabuk-do Province. The most significant risk factors were found to be social support, family disharmony, anger, depression, and low self-esteem in Koreans.

Predictors of suicidal ideation in a community sample: roles of anger, self-esteem, and depression.

The objective of this cross-sectional study was to investigate the relationships of anger, self-esteem, and depression with suicidal ideation. A survey was conducted in a wide range of community areas across Jeollabuk-do Province, Korea. A total of 2964 subjects (mean age=44.4yr) participated in this study. Hierarchical regression was used to investigate predictors of suicidal ideation in terms of their sociodemographic characteristics, depression, self-esteem, and anger. Hierarchical regression analyses revealed that anger and self-esteem were significantly associated with suicidal ideation regardless of age and after controlling for depression. Moderation analysis showed that the impact of anger on suicidal ideation was significantly greater among females than males in adolescents, but not in other age groups. Additionally, there were some differences in sociodemographic predictors of suicidal ideation among age groups. Predictors included gender and family harmony in adolescents, marital status and family harmony in middle-aged individuals, and economic status and family harmony in elderly individuals. Our results revealed that anger and self-esteem play important roles in suicidal ideation beyond the effect of depression. Development and implementation of preventive strategies, including management of anger and self-esteem, could possibly reduce suicidal ideation and subsequent suicide attempts.

Predictors of suicidal ideation in older individuals receiving home-care services.

OBJECTIVES: Despite the importance of tending to older individuals who are vulnerable to suicide, little is known about suicidal ideation in the portion of this population receiving home-care services in Asian countries. The objective of this cross-sectional study was to examine predictors of suicidal ideation in older individuals using home-care service. METHOD: Participants were randomly selected from the individuals 50 years old and over using home-care services across Jeollabuk-do Province, Korea. A total of 697 subjects participated in this study. Each participant completed the short version of the Geriatric Depression Scale, the Scale for Suicidal Ideation, the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support, and the World Health Organization Disability Assessment Schedule II. RESULTS: Hierarchical regression analyses revealed that depression, perceived social support, and disability were significant predictors of suicidal ideation, whereas the roles of subjective health status and fish consumption remained ambiguous in this regard. In terms of social support, we also found that less perceived social support from family members was related to higher levels of suicidal ideation. The associations between various categories of disability and suicidal ideation disappeared after controlling for depression. Our investigation of the mediating effect of depression on the relationship between disability and suicidal ideation revealed that depression was either a complete (disability related to cognition, self-care, getting along with others, and life activities) or partial (disability related to participation) mediator. CONCLUSIONS: Preventive strategies focusing on depression, social support, and disability should be emphasized during encounters with older people receiving home-care services.