Factors that Affect Suicide Attempts of Adolescents in Multicultural Families in Korea

Abstract

We examined the factors that affect suicide attempts adolescents multicultural families in South Korea. The participants were 727 adolescents whose mothers and/or fathers were born outside of South Korea (376 males and 351 females). Among them, 41 (weighted prevalence 6.2%) had attempted suicide during the last 12 months. Female gender, residence in large cities (compared with in rural areas), living with relatives/alone/with friends/in a dormitory or living in a facility (compared with living with family), high and low socio-economic status (compared with a middle level), high and low academic performance (compared with a middle level), severe perceived stress (compared with non-severe stress), conflicts with a teacher (compared with conflicts with parent), and foreign-father/-parent families (compared with foreign-mother family) were associated with increased odds of suicide attempt. The results indicate that greater awareness of the possibility of suicidal behavior is prudent for adolescents in multicultural families with certain risk factors, such as being from a foreign-parents family, living separately from the family, and having conflicts with a teacher.