Lifetime prevalence of and risk factors for suicidal ideation and suicide attempts in a Korean community sample

Objectives: Our study evaluated the lifetime prevalence of and risk factors for suicidal ideation and suicide attempts in Jeollabuk-do Province, Korea. Method: Participants were selected from the population of individuals aged 13-100 years living Jeollabuk-do Province, Korea. A total of 2,964 subjects provided information about lifetime suicidal behavior and sociodemographic and psychological characteristics, completing the Zung Depression Scale, the Scale for Suicidal Ideation, the Multidimensional Anger Inventory, and the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale. Results: The lifetime prevalence of suicidal ideation and suicide attempts, 24.8% and 6.2%, respectively, were higher than in previous studies. Multivariate regression revealed that family harmony had the highest odds ratio of all variables, including psychological factors. Along with depression and self-esteem, anger— which is the basic symptom of the Korean culture-related anger syndrome, Hwa-byung—was significantly associated with lifetime suicidal behavior. Conclusions: Lifetime suicidal behavior was highly prevalent in Jeollabuk-do Province. The most significant risk factors were found to be social support, family disharmony, anger, depression, and low self-esteem in Koreans.