Understanding suicidal behavior and its prevention among youth and young adults in Mexico

Psychosocial Correlates of Suicidal Behavior among Adolescents under Confinement Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic in Aguascalientes, Mexico: A Cross-Sectional Population Survey

“…The present study expanded prior research by introducing new constructs to a model that had been tested earlier in the context of a case-control study in one of the states with the highest suicide rates in Mexico [ 25 ], providing an opportune view of the current situation of young people residing under confinement during the COVID-19 pandemic. Almost 21% of all students reported suicidal behavior, 11% with a low-lethality suicide attempt, and close to 4% with a high-lethality suicide attempt.…”

“…A point for further inquiry is how young people were able to gain access to and even use these drugs given the confinement regulations induced during the COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, self-esteem has been consistently found to be associated with suicidal behavior [ 25 , 61 ]. Similar to this study, Johnson et al [ 62 ], found that childhood trauma was associated with the risk of suicidal behavior in the adolescent population.…”

“…The combination of data on suicidal behavior with the lethality indicator provides information to better understand and characterize the nature of the only or the latest suicidal behavior as either self-injurious behavior with the definite desire to continue living (hereafter referred to as self-injuries), an attempt with no definite intention to die (hereafter referred to as low-lethality suicide attempt), or an attempt with definite desire to die (hereafter referred to as high-lethality suicide attempt.) The schedule has demonstrated its concurrent validity in numerous studies with Mexican adolescent populations: concordant, with variables such as depression, drug use, and impulsivity; and, divergent, with family relationships, self-esteem, and internal locus of control, which are variables related to suicidal behavior [ 25 , 27 , 31 ].…”

“…A mental health and suicidal behavior problem of alarming dimensions may be emerging [ 14 , 24 ]; therefore, it is necessary to investigate, which factors are related to the risk of suicide behaviors in Mexican adolescents, and even more so in the face of the health contingency. A recent study in Aguascalientes assessed several psychosocial constructs and highlighted that major depressive episode, low self-esteem, and the use of two or more drugs in the past month were associated with high-lethality cases of suicide attempt when controlling for several other covariates [ 25 ]. The present study aimed to expand that model for suicidal behaviors with three new design features: first, the current sample includes adolescents confined during COVID-19; second, the data are from a survey including all science and technology public high schools in Aguascalientes; and, third, several additional psychosocial constructs were added to the data collection instrument, as described in the following section.…”

Comparative Analysis of Lifetime Suicide Attempts among Mexican Adolescents, over the Past 12 Years

“…In the most recent cohort, we found the highest prevalence of SAs among the following groups: women, non-indigenous youth, adolescents 13-15 years old, and those who lived in urban areas, belonged to the middle socioeconomic class, consumed more alcohol, had smoked 100+ cigarettes in their lifetimes, had experienced an early sexual initiation, had been sexually abused during childhood, had suffered a physical aggression, had a diagnosis of depression and displayed depressive symptoms. Many of these correlates have previously been reported in international contexts and have also been observed among Mexican adolescents specifically [26][27][28].…”