Resilience and Suicidal Thoughts in Young People: Based on the Rafsanjan Youth Cohort Study

Abstract

Background: Suicide is a serious public health problem, and suicide attempt is defined as one of the important indicators of mental health in a society. The present study investigated the relationship between resilience and suicidal thoughts in Rafsanjani youth. Methods: This cross-sectional descriptive study examined 3006 young people aged 15-35 who referred to Rafsanjan Cohort Study (RCS). Connor and Davidson’s questionnaire was used to measure resilience. The data, including demographic characteristics and cases related to suicide, were extracted from the computer system, which is part of the Rafsanjan Youth Cohort Program. Independent t-test, one-way analysis of variance, Tukey’s post-hoc test, Pearson’s correlation coefficient and multiple linear regression model were used to analyze the data. Results: A total of 3006 individuals were studied, of whom 1685 (56.1%) were women, and 1321 (43.9%) were men. The average age of the participants was 25.75±6.09 years. Men had a significantly higher average score of resilience (P<0.001) and suicidal thoughts (P=0.002) than women. In addition, the average score of suicidal thoughts in divorced and widowed people was significantly higher than single and married people (P=0.029). It was shown that older age groups had higher average resilience (P<0.001) and fewer suicidal thoughts (P=0.003), and people over 30 years had the lowest average suicidal thoughts. Conclusion: The results indicate an inverse and significant relationship between resilience and suicidal thoughts in both men and women. Therefore, more evaluations are necessary to investigate the factors affecting resilience and take measures to improve it among young people.