Presentation Type
Poster
Presentation Type
Submission
Keywords
Suicidality, suicide ideation, suicide attempts, mental health, self reports
Department
Psychology
Major
psychology and political science
Abstract
With suicide being the second leading cause of death for college students, research concerning suicidality is imperative. The National College Health Assessment (NCHA), conducted by the American College Health Association (ACHA) each spring and fall semester since 2000, asks questions regarding suicide ideation and suicide attempts. There have been three versions of NCHA: NCHA-I (spring 2000 - spring 2008), NCHA-II (fall 2008 - spring 2019), and NCHA-III (fall 2019 - present). The analysis of NCHA-I and NCHA-II was limited due to the wording of the questions being different in the fall and spring. This leads to difficulty in comparing data from fall and spring.
For NCHA-III, the Suicide Behavior Questionnaire-Revised (SBQR) was used to assess risk of suicidal behavior. For the SBQR, a score of 7+ indicates significant risk of suicidal behavior (maximum score = 18). Prior to spring 2021, reports from ACHA showed variables by gender (male and female) and total sample. Beginning in the spring of 2021, ACHA has shown frequencies for variables by cis men, cis women, trans/gender non-conforming, and total. Data showed approximately 60% of trans/gender non-conforming students are at risk for suicidal behaviors. This rate is 40% higher than that for cisgender students. This research sounds the alarm for universities to address the mental health crisis surrounding the large number of trans/gender non-conforming students at risk for suicidal behaviors.
Faculty Mentor
Dr. Khanh Bui
Funding Source or Research Program
Academic Year Undergraduate Research Initiative
Location
Waves Cafeteria
Start Date
24-3-2023 2:00 PM
End Date
24-3-2023 4:00 PM
Suicidality among College Students from 2000 to 2022: Findings from the National College Health Assessment
Waves Cafeteria
With suicide being the second leading cause of death for college students, research concerning suicidality is imperative. The National College Health Assessment (NCHA), conducted by the American College Health Association (ACHA) each spring and fall semester since 2000, asks questions regarding suicide ideation and suicide attempts. There have been three versions of NCHA: NCHA-I (spring 2000 - spring 2008), NCHA-II (fall 2008 - spring 2019), and NCHA-III (fall 2019 - present). The analysis of NCHA-I and NCHA-II was limited due to the wording of the questions being different in the fall and spring. This leads to difficulty in comparing data from fall and spring.
For NCHA-III, the Suicide Behavior Questionnaire-Revised (SBQR) was used to assess risk of suicidal behavior. For the SBQR, a score of 7+ indicates significant risk of suicidal behavior (maximum score = 18). Prior to spring 2021, reports from ACHA showed variables by gender (male and female) and total sample. Beginning in the spring of 2021, ACHA has shown frequencies for variables by cis men, cis women, trans/gender non-conforming, and total. Data showed approximately 60% of trans/gender non-conforming students are at risk for suicidal behaviors. This rate is 40% higher than that for cisgender students. This research sounds the alarm for universities to address the mental health crisis surrounding the large number of trans/gender non-conforming students at risk for suicidal behaviors.