Short- and Long-Term Impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Suicide-Related Mental Health in Korean Adolescents

Abstract

This study investigated the short-term (in 2020) and long-term (in 2021) impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on suicide-related characteristics in Korean adolescents in comparison with the pre-pandemic period (in 2019) and examined the factors associated with those impacts. Secondary data of the cross-sectional 15th–17th (2019–2021) Korea Youth Risk Behavior Web-based Survey targeting adolescents in school were utilized. The proportions of adolescents with depression, suicidal ideation, suicide planning, and suicide attempts were 26.5%, 12.2%, 3.7%, and 2.4%, respectively. Following an adjustment, depression, suicidal ideation, and suicide attempts significantly improved in the short term and depression and suicide attempts improved significantly in the long term (i.e., 2021), albeit to a lesser degree. The associated variables in the short-term analysis (i.e., 2020) reflected the socioeconomic vulnerabilities (e.g., lower household socioeconomic status [SES], unhealthy status, and unhealthy behaviors), as well as the socioeconomically favorable indicators (e.g., high household SES and high academic achievement). In the long-term, suicidal ideation was no longer associated with a lack of engagement in hand washing, and suicide attempts were no longer associated with the amount of internet time used for studying. For a successful suicide prevention, it is necessary to develop in-school interventions that address the relevant factors identified in this study and the community-based interventions that target out-of-school adolescents.

Suicide before and during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Systematic Review with Meta-Analysis

“…There were 37 studies with 55 samples (30 non-clinical and 25 clinical samples, respectively) included for the analysis of suicidal ideation. Specifically, several studies contributed more than one sample due to multiple peri-pandemic data collection [ 9 , 65 , 70 , 75 , 106 , 108 ] or subsets of participants [ 75 , 103 , 111 ]. With an average risk of bias score of 7.5 (range = 4–9), the majority of included studies had adequate size and information for their sample, and they employed appropriate sampling and statistical methods.…”

Prevalence of mental health symptoms in children and adolescents during the COVID‐19 pandemic: A meta‐analysis

“…After deduplication, we assessed 24,926 abstracts for eligibility (see Figure 1). After the screening process, 191 studies were included in the systematic review 50,51,56–244 with a total...…”

Deterioration of Mental Health in Children and Adolescents During the COVID-19 Pandemic

“…Lee and Hong [ 70 ] used the KYRBS with more recent data that were collected from August to November 2021 to check the long-term effect of COVID-19. In the data from 2021, a total of 54848 students participated from August to November 2021 [ 70 ]. The percentage of students who had suicidal ideation in 2020 was 10.7%, significantly decreasing from 12.7% in 2019.…”

“…The percentage of students who had suicidal ideation in 2020 was 10.7%, significantly decreasing from 12.7% in 2019. However, suicidal ideation in 2021 was 12.4%, returning to a similar level before the pandemic [ 70 ]. The studies presented above indicate that the suicide rate changes over time and may increase towards the end of the pandemic.…”