J Korean Med Sci.  2014 Sep;29(9):1287-1292. 10.3346/jkms.2014.29.9.1287.

Relationship between Socioeconomic Position and Suicide Attempts among the Korean Adolescents

• Ko MJ
• Lee EY
• Kim K

• KMID: 1794609
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.3346/jkms.2014.29.9.1287

Abstract

This study explored the relationship of the subjective socioeconomic position (SEP) as well as the objective SEP with the rate of suicide attempts in 74,186 adolescents from the 2012 Korea Youth Risk Behavior Web-based Survey (KYRBS). The SEP was measured by the Family Affluence Scale (FAS) and the self-rated household economic status. The low perceived SEP for either the high or low FAS score was related to the elevated likelihood of suicide attempts in both genders. As compared with the adolescents in both the high level of perceived SEP and FAS score after adjusting for other confounding factors, the middle school students were more likely to attempt suicide in both low level of perceived SEP and FAS score (OR, 1.81; 95% CI, 1.18-2.78 for boys, OR, 1.46; 95% CI, 1.13-1.90 for girls). The high school students were more likely to attempt suicide in the low perceived SEP and high FAS score (OR, 1.44; 95% CI, 1.14-1.81 for boys, OR, 1.29; 95% CI, 1.07-1.56 for girls). In conclusion, the relationship of subjective SEP is important in suicide attempts as much as objective SEP and far more important in the high school students.

Keyword

Socioeconomic Position; Attempted Suicide; Adolescent

MeSH Terms

Adolescent
Data Collection
Female
Humans
Internet
Male
Odds Ratio
Republic of Korea
*Socioeconomic Factors
Students/psychology
Suicide, Attempted/*statistics & numerical data

Reference

1. Organization of Economic Co-operation and Development. OECD factbook 2013: Economic, Environmental and Social Statistics. OECD Publishing;2013. doi: 10.1787/factbook-2013-en.

2. Suokas J, Suominen K, Isometsä E, Ostamo A, Lönnqvist J. Long-term risk factors for suicide mortality after attempted suicide: findings of a 14-year follow-up study. Acta Psychiatr Scand. 2001; 104:117–121.

3. Herba CM, Ferdinand RF, van der Ende J, Verhulst FC. Long-term associations of childhood suicide ideation. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2007; 46:1473–1481.

4. Kokkevi A, Rotsika V, Arapaki A, Richardson C. Changes in associations between psychosocial factors and suicide attempts by adolescents in Greece from 1984 to 2007. Eur J Public Health. 2011; 21:694–698.

5. Kokkevi A, Rotsika V, Arapaki A, Richardson C. Adolescents' self-reported suicide attempts, self-harm thoughts and their correlates across 17 European countries. J Child Psychol Psychiatry. 2012; 53:381–389.

6. Bridge JA, Goldstein TR, Brent DA. Adolescent suicide and suicidal behavior. J Child Psychol Psychiatry. 2006; 47:372–394.

7. Jeon HJ, Bae J, Woo JM. Recent statistics and risk factors of suicide in children and adolescents. J Korean Med Assoc. 2013; 56:93–99.

8. Zhang J, McKeown RE, Hussey JR, Thompson SJ, Woods JR. Gender differences in risk factors for attempted suicide among young adults: findings from the third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Ann Epidemiol. 2005; 15:167–174.

9. Burrows S, Laflamme L. Socioeconomic disparities and attempted suicide: state of knowledge and implications for research and prevention. Int J Inj Contr Saf Promot. 2010; 17:23–40.

10. Laflamme L, Burrows S, Hasselberg M. Socioeconomic differences in injury risks: a review of findings and a discussion of potential countermeasures. Copenhagen: World Health Organization Regional Office for Europe;2009.

11. Chan WS, Law CK, Liu KY, Wong PW, Law YW, Yip PS. Suicidality in Chinese adolescents in Hong Kong: the role of family and cultural influences. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol. 2009; 44:278–284.

12. Yoder KA, Hoyt DR. Family economic pressure and adolescent suicidal ideation: application of the family stress model. Suicide Life Threat Behav. 2005; 35:251–264.

13. Evans E, Hawton K, Rodham K. Factors associated with suicidal phenomena in adolescents: a systematic review of population-based studies. Clin Psychol Rev. 2004; 24:957–979.

14. Boyce W, Torsheim T, Currie C, Zambon A. The family affluence scale as a measure of national wealth: validation of an adolescent self-report measure. Soc Indic Res. 2006; 78:473–487.

15. Cho H, Khang Y. Family Affluence Scale, other socioeconomic position indicators, and self-rated health among South Korean adolescents: findings from the Korea Youth Risk Behavior Web-based Survey (KYRBWS). J Public Health. 2010; 18:169–178.

16. Goodman E, Adler NE, Daniels SR, Morrison JA, Slap GB, Dolan LM. Impact of objective and subjective social status on obesity in a biracial cohort of adolescents. Obes Res. 2003; 11:1018–1026.

17. Karvonen S, Rahkonen O. Subjective social status and health in young people. Sociol Health Illn. 2011; 33:372–383.

18. Hanson MD, Chen E. Socioeconomic status and health behaviors in adolescence: a review of the literature. J Behav Med. 2007; 30:263–285.

19. Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The Eighth Korea Youth Risk Behavior Web-based Survey. Seoul: Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, Ministry of Health and Welfare, Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention;2012.

20. Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Reliability and validity of the Korea Youth Risk Behavior Web-based Survey questionnaire. Seoul: Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, Ministry of Health and Welfare, Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention;2009.

21. Currie C, Molcho M, Boyce W, Holstein B, Torsheim T, Richter M. Researching health inequalities in adolescents: the development of the Health Behaviour in School-Aged Children (HBSC) family affluence scale. Soc Sci Med. 2008; 66:1429–1436.

22. Boudreau B, Poulin C. An examination of the validity of the Family Affluence Scale II (FAS II) in a general adolescent population of Canada. Soc Indic Res. 2009; 94:29–42.

23. Goodman E, Huang B, Schafer-Kalkhoff T, Adler NE. Perceived socioeconomic status: a new type of identity that influences adolescents' self-rated health. J Adolesc Health. 2007; 41:479–487.

24. Glendinning A, Hendry L, Shucksmith J. Lifestyle, health and social class in adolescence. Soc Sci Med. 1995; 41:235–248.

25. Brunner E. Socioeconomic determinants of health: stress and the biology of inequality. BMJ. 1997; 314:1472.

26. Piko B, Fitzpatrick KM. Does class matter? SES and psychosocial health among Hungarian adolescents. Soc Sci Med. 2001; 53:817–830.

27. Taylor R, Morrell S, Slaytor E, Ford P. Suicide in urban New South Wales, Australia 1985-1994: socio-economic and migrant interactions. Soc Sci Med. 1998; 47:1677–1686.

28. Noh YH. Determinants of suicidal ideation: a microeconometic analysis. Korean J Health Econ Policy. 2007; 13:41–58.