Why is Korean girls’ suicidal ideation rate higher than boys’ rate? The role of gender heterogeneity in peer groups

Abstract

Girls typically show much lower suicide rates than boys in most OECD countries. However, in South Korea, the suicide rate of girls almost reaches that of boys. Moreover, Korean girls’ suicide rate is remarkable even among other advanced countries. One potential approach to explaining Korean girls’ relatively high suicide rate is to investigate how their peer groups affect suicidal ideation, but this approach has rarely been explored in Korean adolescents. We tested how the gender heterogeneity of peer groups is associated with suicidal ideation by analyzing 2,990 adolescents from the 2018 Korean Children and Youth Well-Being Index Survey. For the analysis, logistic regression models with survey weights were used. The analysis revealed that adolescents with different-gender friends were associated with a higher likelihood of suicidal ideation than those with exclusively same-gender friends when adjusting for covariates. In addition, an analysis stratified by gender found that this association was significant only among girls. Furthermore, the protective power of having a mentor against suicidal ideation was significantly lower in girls with male and female friends than in girls with only female friends. The findings suggest a less protective role of different-gender peer groups for suicidal ideation among girls. During adolescent suicidality consultations, school counselors and practitioners should pay attention to the characteristics of adolescents’ peers, particularly their gender.

A systematic review and narrative synthesis exploring the relationship between friendships and peer relationships, and self-harm ideation and behaviour among young people

“…For instance, self-reporting a higher number of friends with NSSI was significantly related to adolescents' own NSSI 46,15 whereas self-reporting a higher number of friends in general (i.e., high sociality or sending more friendship nominations) was negatively related to self-cutting among boys 15 . Girl, but not boys, with crossgender friendships were significantly more likely to experience suicidal ideation 55 . Similarly, being in a bridging position (i.e., connecting friend groups) and having intransitive friendships (i.e., having friends that are not friends with each other) were associated with higher self-cutting (NSSI) 15 and suicide ideation among girls 35 and individuals at-risk 34 .…”