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
. 2022 Sep;55(5):455-463.
doi: 10.3961/jpmph.22.241. Epub 2022 Sep 12.

The Impact of Household Economic Deterioration Caused by the COVID-19 Pandemic and Socioeconomic Status on Suicidal Behaviors in Adolescents: A Cross-sectional Study Using 2020 Korea Youth Risk Behavior Web-based Survey Data

Sanggu Kang  1 , Yeri Jeong  1 , Eun Hye Park  2 , Seung-Sik Hwang  1
Affiliations

The Impact of Household Economic Deterioration Caused by the COVID-19 Pandemic and Socioeconomic Status on Suicidal Behaviors in Adolescents: A Cross-sectional Study Using 2020 Korea Youth Risk Behavior Web-based Survey Data

Sanggu Kang et al. J Prev Med Public Health. 2022 Sep.

Abstract

Objectives: Economic hardship has a serious impact on adolescents' mental health. The financial impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic was more severe for low-income families, and this also impacted adolescents. This study aimed to examine the associations of economic deterioration (ED) caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and low socioeconomic status (SES) with adolescents' suicidal behaviors.

Methods: This study analyzed data from the 2020 Korea Youth Risk Behavior Web-based Survey, which included 54 948 middle and high school students. Odds ratios (ORs) of suicidal ideation, suicidal planning, and suicide attempts related to ED and SES were calculated using multivariable logistic regression. We calculated relative excess risks due to interaction to assess additive interactions.

Results: The ORs for suicidal ideation, suicidal planning, and suicide attempts related to combined severe ED and low SES were 3.64 (95% confidence interval [CI], 3.13 to 4.23), 3.88 (95% CI, 3.09 to 4.88), and 4.27 (95% CI, 3.21 to 5.69), respectively.

Conclusions: ED and low SES were significantly associated with suicidal behaviors in adolescents. Although no significant additive interaction was found, the ORs related to suicidal ideation, suicidal planning, and suicide attempts were highest among adolescents from low-income families with severe ED. Special attention is needed for this group, considering the increased impact of economic inequality due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Keywords: Adolescent; COVID-19; Health inequities; Suicidal ideation.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

CONFLICT OF INTEREST

The authors have no conflicts of interest associated with the material presented in this paper.

Comment in

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. World Health Organization Adolescent mental health. 2021. [cited 2022 Apr 9]. Available from: https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/adolescent-mental-health .
    1. Statistics Korea 2021 Youth statistics. 2021. [cited 2022 Apr 9]. Available from: https://kostat.go.kr/portal/korea/kor_nw/1/1/index.board?bmode=read&aSeq... (Korean)
    1. Lee FS, Heimer H, Giedd JN, Lein ES, Šestan N, Weinberger DR, et al. Mental health. Adolescent mental health--opportunity and obligation. Science. 2014;346(6209):547–549. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Johnson D, Dupuis G, Piche J, Clayborne Z, Colman I. Adult mental health outcomes of adolescent depression: a systematic review. Depress Anxiety. 2018;35(8):700–716. - PubMed
    1. Fergusson DM, Horwood LJ, Ridder EM, Beautrais AL. Suicidal behaviour in adolescence and subsequent mental health outcomes in young adulthood. Psychol Med. 2005;35(7):983–993. - PubMed