Salman Muhammad, Shehzadi Naureen, Mustafa Zia Ul, Mallhi Tauqeer Hussain, Khan Yusra Habib, Khan Tahir Mehmood, Hussain Khalid
Institute of Pharmacy, Faculty of Pharmaceutical and Allied Health Sciences, Lahore College for Women University, Lahore, Pakistan.
Faculty of Pharmacy, The University of Lahore, Lahore, Pakistan.
Psychol Health Med. 2023 Jul-Dec;28(8):2225-2233. doi: 10.1080/13548506.2022.2119483. Epub 2022 Sep 4.
Suicide is the fourth leading cause of death among young people. COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated various factors which could lead to suicidal ideation. Therefore, this study was aimed to assess self-harm and suicidal ideation among university students in Pakistan. We conducted an online, cross-sectional study among students of four major Pakistani universities. The generalized anxiety scale and patient health questionnaire were used to screen students for anxiety, depression and suicidal ideation/self-harm. Suicidal ideation/self-harm was determined from the ninth-item (score ≥1) of the patient health questionnaire. Brief-COPE was used to assess coping methods. This study included 1134 respondents (age 21.76 ± 3.48 years; female 70.5%). Around 32% students reported having thoughts of death and/or self-harm in the past 2 weeks (several days 14.8%, over half the days 7.1%, and nearly every day 10.2%). Moreover, these thoughts were equally prevalent among the demographics. Suicidal ideation/self-harm was found to be increased by the severity of generalized anxiety and depression (p < 0.001). In conclusion, the rate of suicidal ideation/self-harm is alarmingly high in Pakistani university students during the COVID-19 pandemic. There is a dire need to initiate the psychological measures to prevent suicidal behaviors in Pakistani youth. Addressing mental health disparities and preparing support systems to mitigate mental health consequences as the pandemic evolves will continue to be needed urgently.
自杀是年轻人中第四大死因。新冠疫情加剧了各种可能导致自杀念头的因素。因此，本研究旨在评估巴基斯坦大学生中的自我伤害和自杀念头情况。我们对巴基斯坦四所主要大学的学生进行了一项在线横断面研究。使用广泛性焦虑量表和患者健康问卷对学生进行焦虑、抑郁和自杀念头/自我伤害的筛查。自杀念头/自我伤害由患者健康问卷的第九项（得分≥1）确定。使用简易应对方式问卷评估应对方法。本研究包括1134名受访者（年龄21.76±3.48岁；女性占70.5%）。约32%的学生报告在过去两周内有死亡和/或自我伤害的想法（几天有这种想法的占14.8%，超过一半天数有这种想法的占7.1%，几乎每天都有这种想法的占10.2%）。此外，这些想法在不同人口统计学特征中同样普遍。发现自杀念头/自我伤害会因广泛性焦虑和抑郁的严重程度而增加（p<0.001）。总之，在新冠疫情期间，巴基斯坦大学生的自杀念头/自我伤害率高得惊人。迫切需要采取心理措施来预防巴基斯坦青年的自杀行为。随着疫情的发展，迫切需要解决心理健康差距问题并建立支持系统以减轻心理健康后果。
