Childhood, Adulthood, and Cumulative Interpersonal Violence as Determinants of Suicide Risk among University Students

ABSTRACT

Interpersonal violence is a prevalent mental health issue that poses substantial mental health risks to university students who are exposed to it in childhood or adulthood. This study aimed to examine the impact of childhood, adulthood, and cumulative (childhood and adulthood) violence in determining suicide risk among university students in association with demographic factors and mental health status. A total of 228 students (Mean age = 21.7 years; 61.4% female) from five selected universities responded to the questionnaire . Results showed that almost half of the university students reported experiencing (46.1%) and perpetrating (43.4%) lifetime interpersonal violence. Students who experienced cumulative violence had 3.8 times (adjusted OR = 3.763, 95% CI [1.283, 11.035]) suicide risk in comparison to those who did not experience violence, or had only experienced childhood or adulthood violence. A higher level of violence in adulthood predicted nearly thrice (adjusted OR = 2.839, 95% CI [1.156, 6.973]) the odds of suicide risk. The results were significant even after adjusting for demographic factors, psychological distress, and life satisfaction. Efforts should be taken to address the repercussions of interpersonal violence among university students which includes screening for childhood and adulthood violence experiences.

KEYWORDS:

• Life satisfaction
• psychological distress
• interpersonal violence
• suicidality

Notes on contributors

Shue Kien Ting, Faculty of Social Sciences and Liberal Arts, UCSI University, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; Ching Sin Siau, Center for Community Health Studies, Faculty of Health Sciences, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; Muhamad Nur Fariduddin, Faculty of Education, Universiti Teknologi Mara, Selangor, Malaysia; Mimi Fitriana, Faculty of Arts and Sciences, International University of Malaya-Wales, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; Kam Fong Lee, Faculty of Social Sciences and Liberal Arts, UCSI University, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; Amira Najiha Yahya, Faculty of Education, Universiti Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; Norhayati Ibrahim, Centre for Healthy Ageing and Wellness, Faculty of Health Sciences, and the Institute of Islam Hadhari, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

The study was supported by a grant from Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (GGPM-2021-031) to Ching Sin Siau, Principal Investigator.

Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Dr. Siau Ching Sin, Faculty of Health Sciences, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Jalan Raja Muda Abdul Aziz. 50300 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Tel: [phone]. Email: [email protected].

Shue Kien Ting, BSc. in Psychology was a psychology major in the Faculty of Social Sciences and Liberal Arts, UCSI University, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.Ching Sin Siau, PhD is a senior lecturer in the Center for Community Health Studies, Faculty of Health Sciences, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Muhamad Nur Fariduddin is a senior lecturer in the Faculty of Education, Universiti Teknologi Mara, Selangor, Malaysia. Mimi Fitriana is a Senior Lecturer at the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, International University of Malaya-Wales, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Kam Fong Lee, BA Guidance and Counseling, Master of Applied Linguistics, is a lecturer in the Faculty of Social Sciences and Liberal Arts, UCSI University, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Amira Najiha Yahya, PhD, is a senior lecturer at the Faculty of Education, Universiti Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Norhayati Ibrahim, PhD, is an Associate Professor with the Centre for Healthy Ageing and Wellness, Faculty of Health Sciences, and the Institute of Islam Hadhari, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank all our participants. This study was funded by the Geran Galakan Penyelidik Muda (GGPM-2021-031), Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia.

Disclosure statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Ethical Standards and Informed Consent

All procedures followed were in accordance with the ethical standards of the responsible committee on human experimentation: Institutional Ethics Committee, UCSI University (IEC-2019-FOSSLA-048) and with the Helsinki Declaration of 1975, as revised in 2000. Informed consent was obtained from all participants who were included in the study.