Food Insecurity and Suicidal Behaviors Among US High School Students*

Brown, Andrea D.; Seligman, Hilary K.; Sliwa, Sarah; Barnidge, Ellen; Krupsky, Kathryn L.; Demissie, Zewditu; Liese, Angela D.

doi:10.1111/josh.13199

Cited by 13 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 45 publications

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“…With regard to food insecurity among adolescents, a cross-sectional study of 179,771 adolescents from 9 high-income, 31 middle-income, and 4 low-income countries found an association between food insecurity (hunger) and suicide attempts [ 35 ]. A study conducted among US high school students [ 36 ] also demonstrated an association between food insecurity and both suicidal ideation and suicide attempts, which is consistent with our findings. Food insecurity has recently become a major issue in Lebanon, with 42% of the country’s population facing it by 2023[ 37 ].…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

Suicidal behaviours and their correlates in school-going Lebanese adolescents: findings from a national survey

Dadras

Wang

2023

Child Adolesc Psychiatry Ment Health

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Background Adolescent suicide is regarded as a serious phenomenon that affects the well-being of the youth. This study aims to investigate the prevalence of suicidal behaviours and their association with physical/psychological harm and substance use in a nationally representative sample of adolescents in Grades 7–12 in Lebanon. Methods Data from the latest Global School-Based Student Health Survey conducted in 2017 were used in this study. The prevalence and correlates of suicidal ideation and suicide attempts among those who had considered committing suicide, at least once, were explored. Results An estimated 13.45% of Lebanese adolescents, particularly females in Grades 7–12 had considered suicide at least once in the past 12 months. More importantly, almost half of them had attempted it at least once in the past 12 months. Those who frequently felt lonely or worried (previous year), were involved in physical fights or assaults (previous year), had been verbally or physically bullied (previous month), had missed more school days, experienced food insecurity, and had a history of substance abuse (marijuana, amphetamine, alcohol, and tobacco products) were more likely to exhibit suicidal behaviours. Parental support and older age at drug initiation appeared to be protective factors. Discussion The findings characterise the correlates of suicidal behaviours among school-going Lebanese adolescents and determine the attributes of the risk group susceptible to engaging in suicide attempts. Future interventions and policies should consider these attributes when monitoring target groups, particularly those with the alarming behaviours identified in this study. In addition, awareness campaigns that engage all stakeholders, particularly parents, should be prioritised by the authorities.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

Suicidal behaviours and their correlates in school-going Lebanese adolescents: findings from a national survey

Dadras

Wang

2023

Child Adolesc Psychiatry Ment Health

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“…This is consistent with previous research showing that children and adolescents experiencing food insecurity are more likely to have symptoms of depression and anxiety, a worsening of ADHD symptoms and other behavioural issues. 7 – 10 , 17 , 24 – 26 Food insecurity has also been associated with suicidal ideation and attempts among adolescents, 8 , 9 , 27 but we found no indication of a higher prevalence of acute care visits for self-harm, although these were uncommon in our sample. The coexistence of household food insecurity and service use for mental and substance use disorders is problematic, given that both of these conditions have each been found to have negative consequences for social, educational and developmental outcomes among children and adolescents.…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 72%

Household food insecurity and health service use for mental and substance use disorders among children and adolescents in Ontario, Canada

Anderson¹,

Clemens²,

Le³

et al. 2023

CMAJ

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Background: Food insecurity is a serious public health problem and is linked to the mental health of children and adolescents; however, its relationship with mental health service use is unknown. We sought to estimate the association between household food insecurity and contact with health services for mental or substance use disorders among children and adolescents in Ontario, Canada. Methods: We used health administrative data, linked to 5 waves of the Canadian Community Health Survey, to identify children and adolescents (aged 1–17 yr) who had a household response to the Household Food Security Survey Module. We identified contacts with outpatient and acute care services for mental or substance use disorders in the year before survey completion using administrative data. We estimated prevalence ratios for the association between household food insecurity and use of mental health services, adjusting for several confounding factors. Results: The sample included 32 321 children and adolescents, of whom 5216 (16.1%) were living in food-insecure households. Of the total sample, 9.0% had an outpatient contact and 0.6% had an acute care contact for a mental or substance use disorder. Children and adolescents in food-insecure households had a 55% higher prevalence of outpatient contacts (95% confidence interval [CI] 41%–70%), and a 74% higher prevalence of acute care contacts (95% CI 24%–145%) for a mental or substance use disorder, although contacts for substance use disorders were uncommon. Interpretation: Children and adolescents living in a food-insecure household have greater use of health services for mental or substance use disorders than those living in households without food insecurity. Focused efforts to support food-insecure families could improve child and adolescent mental health and reduce strain on the mental health system.

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“…31 The severity of symptoms was classified based on predetermined thresholds for mild, moderate-to-severe, and severe symptoms. For depression, the cutoff points were: normal (0-9), mild (10-13), moderate (14)(15)(16)(17)(18)(19)(20), severe (21)(22)(23)(24)(25)(26)(27), and extremely severe (+28). Similarly, for anxiety, the thresholds were: normal (0-7), mild (8)(9), moderate (10)(11)(12)(13)(14), severe (15)(16)(17)(18)(19), and extremely severe (+20).…”

Section: Depression Anxiety and Stressmentioning

confidence: 99%

Food insecurity and suicidal behaviours among Bangladeshi university students: a multi-institutional cross-sectional study

Roy,

Aktarujjaman,

Siddiky

et al. 2024

Public Health Nutr.

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Objective: Suicidal behaviors among students pose a significant public health concern, with mental health problems being well-established risk factors. However, the association between food insecurity (FIS) and suicidal behaviors remains understudied, particularly in Bangladesh. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between FIS and suicidal behaviors among Bangladeshi university students. Design: A cross-sectional survey using convenience sampling was conducted between August 2022 and September 2022. Information related to socio-demographic, mental health problems, FIS and related events, and suicidal behaviors were collected. Chi-squared tests and multivariable logistic regression models, both unadjusted and adjusted, were employed to examine the relationship between FIS and suicidal behavior. Setting: Six public universities in Bangladesh. Participants: 1,480 students from diverse academic disciplines. Results: A substantial proportion of respondents experienced FIS, with 75.5% reporting low or very low food security. Students experiencing FIS had significantly higher prevalence of suicidal ideation, plans, and attempts compared to food-secure students (18.6% vs. 2.8%, 8.7% vs. 0.8%, and 5.4% vs. 0.3%, respectively; all p<0.001). In addition, students who have personal debt and participate in food assistance programs had higher risk of suicidal behaviors. Conclusions: This study sheds light on the association between FIS and suicidal behaviors among university students. Targeted mental health screening, evaluation, and interventions within universities may be crucial for addressing the needs of high-risk students facing FIS.

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Food Insecurity and Suicidal Behaviors Among US High School Students*

Cited by 13 publications

References 45 publications

Suicidal behaviours and their correlates in school-going Lebanese adolescents: findings from a national survey

Suicidal behaviours and their correlates in school-going Lebanese adolescents: findings from a national survey

Household food insecurity and health service use for mental and substance use disorders among children and adolescents in Ontario, Canada

Food insecurity and suicidal behaviours among Bangladeshi university students: a multi-institutional cross-sectional study

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