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One-third of adolescent males with a history of sexual assault attempt suicide

Recent analyses of Youth Risk Behavior Surveys indicated that one-third of adolescent males who experienced sexual assault attempted suicide.

“Suicide, the third leading cause of adolescent death, continues to be a serious public health issue. Research examining overweight and suicide, and sexual assault and suicide has produced inconsistent yet overlapping results, suggesting there may be a common third variable involvement,” study researcher Laura M. Anderson, PhD, of the University of Buffalo, and colleagues wrote.

To assess associations among overweight status, sexual assault and risk for suicide, researchers analyzed data from the 2009 and 2011 Youth Risk Behavior Surveys for 24,709 high school students aged 14 to 18 years.

Overall, more than 30% of the study cohort was overweight. Adolescent females were more likely to report forced sex compared with males (11% vs. 4.4%). Approximately 7.6% of the study cohort reported having attempted suicide at least once within the last 12 months. Of these, more than two-thirds were female. The researchers found no significant associations between being overweight and experiencing forced sex.

Binary analysis indicated a significant association between being overweight and attempting suicide among females (P = .001). Females who reported they were overweight were more likely to have attempted suicide in the past 12 months vs. females with healthy weight (10.5% vs. 8%). Analysis did not indicate an association between being overweight and attempting suicide among adolescent males.

Self-reported history of sexual assault was statistically significantly associated with suicide among adolescent males (P < .001) and females (P < .001). This association was very significant among adolescent males, as 33% of males who were sexually assaulted attempted suicide, compared with 3.6% of males who did not report sexual assault. Twenty-seven percent of adolescent females who reported sexual assault attempted suicide, compared with 6.4% of females with no sexual assault history.

Sexual assault among females was the strongest predictor of attempted suicide, as females who reported experiencing sexual assault were three times more likely to attempt suicide vs. females without a history of sexual assault (adjusted OR = 4.05; 95% CI, 3-5.48).

“The most consistent result across cohorts of adolescents involved the elevated risk for suicide among all adolescents reporting sexual assault, consistent with previous findings,” Anderson and colleagues wrote. “The interaction of adolescent overweight and sexual assault is more complex and in need of continued investigation when considering the outcome of suicide risk.” – by Amanda Oldt

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