Suicidal behavior amongst adolescent students in south Delhi

OBJECTIVE: To study the prevalence of suicidal behavior and its epidemiological correlates amongst adolescent students in south Delhi. SETTINGS AND DESIGN: A cross-sectional study in three schools and two colleges in south Delhi. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 550 adolescent students aged 14 to 19 years selected by cluster sampling. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS: Proportions, chi square test, bivariate logistic regression. RESULTS: About 15.8% reported having thought of attempting suicide, while 28 (5.1%) had actually attempted suicide, both being more in females than in males. Statistically significant associations were observed with the age of the student, living status of parents, working status of mother, and whether the student was working part-time. The two variables found significant on multivariate analysis were female gender and the number of role models the student had ever seen smoking or drinking. CONCLUSION: The prevalence of suicide-risk behavior was found to be quite high and is a matter that should evoke public health concern.