Relationship between stress, anxiety, and depression with suicidal ideation in adolescents

Abstract

Introduction: Suicide is a significant mental health problem in adolescents worldwide that requires comprehensive treatment. This study examined the relationship between stress, anxiety, and depression with suicidal ideation among Indonesian adolescents. Methods: This cross-sectional study examined 869 high school adolescents. Suicide ideation was a dependent variable, while stress, anxiety, and depression were independent variables in this study. The instrument used to measure stress, anxiety, and depression is the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS-21), while the idea of suicide was measured using the Scale for Suicide Ideation (SSI) instrument. Data were analyzed with Spearman statistical test to examine the association between variables. Results: The results showed that teenagers who had suicidal ideation were 23.7% of respondents, while 12.4% had a high intention of suicidal ideation. A total of 44.4%, 72.7%, and 71.4% of teens experienced stress, anxiety, and depression in the mild to very severe categories, respectively. There was a significant relationship between suicidal ideation with stress levels (p-value < 0.001; r value = 0.267), anxiety (p-value < 0.001; r value = 0.237), and level of depression (p-value < 0.001; r value = 0.233) in adolescents. Conclusions: The study's findings revealed that stress, anxiety, and depression significantly affect suicide ideation in adolescents. Therefore, to prevent increased suicide ideation in adolescents, mental and psychological health support measures must be given to deal with stress, anxiety, and depression. Keywords: adolescents; anxiety; depression; stress; suicidal ideation