142nd APHA Annual Meeting and Exposition

Annual Meeting Recordings are now available for purchase

309557
Associations between suicide attempts and risk behaviors: Violence, bullying, drug use, and alcohol abuse among high school students in Puerto Rico, 2011

142nd APHA Annual Meeting and Exposition (November 15 - November 19, 2014): http://www.apha.org/events-and-meetings/annual
Monday, November 17, 2014

Orialis Figueroa-Cruz, MPH(c) , Master Program in Public Health, San Juan Bautista School of Medicine, Caguas, PR
Rayna Anaya-Soto, MPH(c) , Master Program in Public Health, San Juan Bautista School of Medicine, Caguas, PR
Susana Arraut-Hernández, MPH(c) , Master Program in Public Health, San Juan Bautista School of Medicine, Caguas, PR
Emily Morales-Vázquez, MPH(c) , Master Program in Public Health, San Juan Bautista School of Medicine, Caguas, PR
Nicole M Pérez-Rodríguez, MPH(c) , Master Program in Public Health, San Juan Bautista School of Medicine, Caguas, PR
Suramy Sosa-Hernández, MPH(c) , Master Program in Public Health, San Juan Bautista School of Medicine, Caguas, PR
Juan A Texidor-García, MPH(c) , Master Program in Public Health, San Juan Bautista School of Medicine, Caguas, PR
Ivis Figueroa-Sánchez, Dr.PH , Master Program in Public Health, San Juan Bautista School of Medicine, Caguas, PR
Geronimo Maldonado-Martinez, MPH, PhD(c) , Master Program in Public Health, San Juan Bautista School of Medicine, Caguas, PR
Suicide is the third leading cause of death in young Puerto Ricans. Literature review established that several psychosocial and health risk behaviors contribute to the rates of suicide and suicide attempts among young-aged populations. However, few studies have explored the role of youth risk behaviors and its relation to suicide in Puerto Rico. The goal of this study is to explore the association between suicide attempts and risk behaviors: violence, bullying, drug use, and alcohol abuse. We analyzed the Center for Disease Control and Prevention 2011 Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance (YRBS) data. The YRBS surveyed a random sample of 1,517 high school students from 34 Puerto Rican public schools, 94% Hispanic and 54% female. We performed descriptive statistics to determine frequencies. Bivariate analyses were used to examine the association between suicide attempts and carrying a weapon in school, bullying, cyber bullying, dating violence, physical fights, alcohol abuse, marihuana use, ecstasy use, cocaine use, and drugs without prescription use. Chi square test and Cramer’s V coefficient were used to determine the strength of the association. Analysis revealed that the associations between suicide attempts and all behaviors were statistically significant (p<0.05). Being cyber bullied showed a trend to suicide attempts with a Cramer’s V value of 0.193. Puerto Rican adolescents who exhibited the ten risk behaviors have a higher likelihood to attempt suicide in the previous 12 months. Schools and state agencies should establish or re-evaluate interventions programs to reduce suicide attempts associated with risk behaviors among Puerto Rican adolescents.

Learning Areas:

Epidemiology
Public health or related research
Social and behavioral sciences

Learning Objectives:
Assess the association between suicide attempts and risky behaviors in youth. Identify youth risk behaviors that contributes to suicide attempts. Discuss public health implications for the association between suicide attempts and risky behaviors in youth.

Keyword(s): Suicide, Youth Violence

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am a graduate student in Public Health and one of the principal investigators of this study. As a future public health professional, I am committed to the study about important health issues, such as suicide and youth violence. This project is a prerequisite to my Master degree in Public Health.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.