Examining the association between rape and suicide attempts among urban, ethnically diverse adolescent females

Background: Rape is one of the most significant psychological stressors an adolescent can experience. However, little is still known about the relationship between rape and suicide attempts in urban, ethnically diverse, adolescent females. Methodology: Participants include 1,328 public high school students (51.5% female) that completed the 2009 Philadelphia Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS). Research questions examined past history of rape and suicide attempts. Data collected from survey participants were weighted to represent the 43,867 public high school students in Philadelphia. Analysis of the weighted data included chi-square tests and odds ratio calculations. Results: Overall, 14.7% of adolescent females attempted suicide at least one time during the last 12 months, and 12.7% reported being forced to have sex at least one time in their lifetime. Findings indicate that adolescent females who reported a history of being raped were 3.350 times (95% CI: 3.034, 3.700) more likely to have attempted suicide. More specifically, Hispanic, African American, and Caucasian adolescent females who have been forced to have sex are 7.008 (95% CI: 3.850, 12.758), 3.658 (95% CI: 3.215, 4.162), and 5.813 (95% CI: 4.605, 7.337) times more likely, respectively, to have attempted suicide at least one time in the last year. Conclusions: The prevalence rates of rape and suicide attempts among urban adolescent females further illustrate the critical need for access to appropriate behavioral health care services. Specifically, screening urban adolescent females for past history of rape could help identify subsamples of teens that could benefit from interventions focused on suicide prevention.