Effect of Academic Stress on suicidal ideation among adolescents: Analysis of the Moderating Effect of Social Participation

Background: Suicide among adolescents caused by academic stress is one of the serious social problems in Korea. Although social participation activities are known as coping resource for mental health, little has been known about the effect of social participation as a protective factor on suicidal ideation. This study investigates the effects of academic stress of adolescents to suicidal ideation and defines the moderating effect of social participation.

 

Methods: Data were derived from the Korean Survey on Support Measures for Youth and Children’ Mental Health Promotion in 2013. The data contained a nationally representative total of 9,755 students between the ages of 10 and 19 from 317 schools by using stratified multi-stage cluster sampling. Binominal logistic regression analysis and 3-step verification method were used to estimate moderating effects.

 

Results: The results show that; 1) adolescents’ academic stress significantly affects their suicidal ideation (OR=1.794, 95% CI=1.697-1.897, p<0.001), 2) social participation decreases suicidal ideation (OR=0.869, 95% CI=0.813-0.929, p<0.001), 3) adolescents’ social participation has a moderating effect (OR=1.076, 95% CI=1.010-1.146, p<0.05) on the association between academic stress and suicidal ideation.

 

Conclusions: Based on the findings, there is a significant importance of social participation in order to decrease suicidal ideation among adolescents who experience academic stress. Proper policy and practice intervention plans need to be considered to prevent juvenile suicide and introduce a practical direction for promoting social participation.