Depression, Self-Injury, and Suicidal Ideation: An Examination of the Risk Factors and Psychosocial Correlates Among Female College Students

ABSTRACT

This research examines psychosocial risk factors of depression, non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI), and suicidal ideation among a sample of female college students. Data were collected from a random sample of 732 female college students attending a Midwestern public university. Logistic regression was used to investigate various risk factors of depression, NSSI, and suicidal ideation, including respondent demographic characteristics, mental health, sexual victimization, substance use, and sexual orientation. The results illustrate the co-occurring nature of these outcomes. Factors associated with significantly higher likelihood of depression, self-harm, and suicidal thoughts include low self-esteem, substance use, prior sexual victimization, and non-heterosexual orientation. The current study informs both our theoretical understanding of the etiology of these problem behaviors among college women and how to best develop and implement effective prevention and intervention programming.

Author note

Nicholas W. Bakken, Department of Sociology and Criminal Justice, University of Wisconsin-La Crosse; Sarah E. Malone, Department of Sociology and Criminology, University of Iowa

Acknowledgements

We appreciate the student participation at the university where the research was conducted.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

¹ Numbers correspond to the prevalence rate of the NSSI behavior within the entire sample of female students (N = 732).

² The sexual victimization measure was created to examine the relationship between the victim and the perpetrator(s); therefore, an original measure was created after an extensive review of past surveys of sexual assault and victimization. Previous studies reviewed include, but were not limited to, the National College Women Survey (Koss et al. 2007), the National Violence Against Women Survey (Tjaden and Thoennes 2000), and the National College Women Sexual Victimization Survey (Fisher, Cullen, and Turner 2000).

³ A breakdown of respondent race/ethnicity was 94% White, 2% Asian, 2% Hispanic, 1% Black, and 1% Other. This was consistent with the university demographics and dichotomized (Non-White = 1; White = 0) as a result.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Nicholas W. Bakken

Nicholas W. Bakken, PhD, is a professor in the Department of Sociology and Criminal Justice at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse. His research focuses broadly on criminal offending across the life course, treatment and programmatic evaluation studies, substance use, and suicidality and health.

Sarah E. Malone

Sarah E. Malone is a graduate student in the Department of Sociology and Criminology at the University of Iowa. Her research interests include life course perspectives on crime and deviance, spatial inequality, mental health, and substance use.