Peer-reviewed article
Epidemiology of suicidal ideation, suicide attempts, and direct self-injurious behavior in adolescents with a migration background: a representative study
Carolin Donath, Marie Christine Bergmann, Sören Kliem, Thomas Hillemacher, Dirk Baier ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This study examined the prevalence of suicidal ideation, suicide attempts, and self-injury among 10,638 adolescents in Germany, comparing those with and without a migration background. Adolescents with a migration background showed significantly higher rates across all three measures: 7.6% had attempted suicide, 36.6% reported suicidal ideation, and 17.8% engaged in self-injury in the past year. Girls with a migration background were particularly affected, with higher rates of both suicide attempts and frequent suicidal ideation compared to native German girls. The study suggests that culturally sensitive prevention programmes are needed that address the specific stressors related to migration experiences.
Key points
- 7.6% of all students had a lifetime history of suicide attempts; 36.6% reported suicidal ideation; 17.8% engaged in direct self-injurious behavior in the past year
- Adolescents with a migration background showed significantly higher prevalence across all three constructs compared to native students
- Female students with a migration background had 15.9% lifetime prevalence of suicide attempts versus 10.4% for native females
- Female students with a migration background reported 12.1% often experiencing suicidal ideation versus 8.9% for native females
- Male students with a migration background had 4.7% lifetime prevalence of suicide attempts versus 3.1% for native males
Limitations
The study was conducted only in Lower Saxony state in Germany and relies on self-report measures, so results may not be generalizable to all German adolescents or other countries. The study identifies an elevated risk but does not investigate the specific mechanisms or migration-related stressors that explain why adolescents with a migration background have higher rates.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Data on the prevalence of suicidal ideation, suicide attempts, and direct self-injurious behavior in adolescents with a migration background are scarce. There are hints that this population is at risk. The aim of the study is to investigate the epidemiology of suicidal ideation, suicide attempts, and direct self-injurious behavior in adolescents with a migration background in Germany while taking gender-specific differences into consideration. METHODS: A representative study with N = 10,638 students (mean age 14.91 years, SD = .73).) in the state of Lower Saxony in Germany was conducted. In the 2014-2015 school year, 672 classes were selected by randomly sampling different school types. The participation rate was 84.1%, excluding any classes for which the director refused to provide consent. A total of 49.8% were female adolescents, and 23.3% of the participants had a migration background. Target variables were assessed with items from the Ottawa Self-Injury Inventory, the Self-Harm Behavior Questionnaire and the Self-Harm Inventory, partly adapted. RESULTS: Of all students, 7.6% had a lifetime history of suicide attempts, and 36.6% answered with a rating of at least "rarely" when asked to rate the lifetime prevalence of suicidal ideation. The 12-month prevalence of direct self-injurious behavior was 17.8%. Adolescents with a migration background showed a significantly higher prevalence of all three constructs (p = .006; p < .001; p = .006). Male students with a migration background reported a significantly higher lifetime prevalence of suicide attempts (4.7% vs. 3.1%) than native males (p = .009). Female students with a migration background reported a significantly higher lifetime prevalence of suicide attempts (15.9% vs. 10.4%) and suicidal ideation ("often" 12.1% vs. 8.9%) than native female students (p < .001; p = .008). CONCLUSION: Our assessment indicates an elevated risk for suicidal behaviors in adolescents with a migration background. From research on adults, it is known that the dominant motives for suicidal behavior in migrants are associated with their migration history/situation. As suggested by Cramer and Kapusta's (Front Psychol 8:1756, 2017) theoretical model, the Social-Ecological Framework of Theory, Assessment, and Prevention, there is a need for culturally sensitive preventions that take into account the specific reasons for suicide attempts in migrants.