Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2015 Nov 1:186:254-60.
doi: 10.1016/j.jad.2015.07.030. Epub 2015 Jul 31.

The impact of lifetime suicidality on academic performance in college freshmen

P Mortier  1 , K Demyttenaere  2 , R P Auerbach  3 , J G Green  4 , R C Kessler  5 , G Kiekens  2 , M K Nock  6 , R Bruffaerts  2
Affiliations

The impact of lifetime suicidality on academic performance in college freshmen

P Mortier et al. J Affect Disord. .

Abstract

Background: While suicidal thoughts and behaviors (STB) among college students are common, the associations between STB and academic performance are not well understood.

Methods: As part of the World Mental Health Surveys International College Student project, web-based self-reported STB of KU Leuven (Leuven, Belgium) incoming freshmen (N=4921; response rate=65.4%) was collected, as well as academic year percentage (AYP), and the departments to which students belong. Single- and multilevel multivariate analyses were conducted, adjusted for gender, age, parental educational level, and comorbid lifetime emotional problems.

Results: Lifetime suicide plan and attempt upon college entrance were associated with significant decreases in AYP (3.6% and 7.9%, respectively). A significant interaction was found with average departmental AYP, with STB more strongly associated with reduced AYP in departments with lower than higher average AYP.

Limitations: Limited sample size precluded further investigation of interactions between department-level and student-level variables. No information was available on freshman secondary school academic performance.

Conclusions: Lifetime STB has a strong negative association with academic performance in college. Our study suggests a potential role for the college environment as target for treatment and prevention interventions.

Keywords: Academic performance; College student; Grade point average; Suicide attempt; Suicide plan.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Relation between departmental academic performance and estimated impact of lifetime suicide attempt on AYP.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Arnett JJ. Emerging adulthood. A theory of development from the late teens through the twenties. Am. Psychol. 2000;55:469–480. - PubMed
    1. Astin A. What Matters in College? Jossey-Bass; San Francisco, CA: 1993.
    1. Clarke MC, Coughlan H, Harley M, Connor D, Power E, Lynch F, Fitzpatrick C, Cannon M. The impact of adolescent cannabis use, mood disorder and lack of education on attempted suicide in young adulthood. World Psychiatry. 2014;13:322–323. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Crosby AE, Cheltenham MP, Sacks JJ. Incidence of suicidal ideation and behavior in the United States, 1994. Suicide Life Threat Behav. 1999;29:131–140. - PubMed
    1. Dalgard OS, Mykletun A, Rognerud M, Johansen R, Zahl PH. Education, sense of mastery and mental health: results from a nation wide health monitoring study in Norway. BMC Psychiatry. 2007;7:20. - PMC - PubMed

Publication types