Suicidal ideation among US adolescents during the COVID-19 pandemic: Exploring individual, interpersonal, and community-level resilience factors

Objectives

The COVID-19 pandemic had a substantial psychological impact on adolescents in the United States (US). This study aimed to explore the multi-level resilience factors associated with adolescent suicidal ideation during the pandemic.

Study Design

Cross-sectional study.

Methods

We conducted this study using data collected in 2021 from a nationally representative sample of US high school students (N = 7,628). The outcome variable was self-reported suicidal ideation during the pandemic. Predictors included three individual factors (sleep duration, physical activity, and muscle strengthening), two interpersonal factors (parental monitoring and virtual connectedness), and two community factors (violence-free environments and school connectedness). We built four multivariate logistic regression models to measure associations between the outcome variable and the multi-level predictors.

Results

Nearly one in five adolescents (19.9 %) reported suicidal ideation during the pandemic. Adolescents with sufficient sleep duration (OR = 0.51, p < 0.001), muscle strengthening exercises on 3–7 days per week (OR = 0.79, p < 0.01), high levels of parental monitoring (OR = 0.54, p < 0.001), high levels of virtual connectedness with family and friends (OR = 0.77, p < 0.05), living in a violence-free community (OR = 0.46, p < 0.001), and high levels of school connectedness (OR = 0.43, p < 0.001) were less likely to report suicidal ideation.

Conclusions

The findings of this study highlight the positive role of individual behaviors (e.g., sufficient sleep, regular exercise) and supportive environments (e.g., family, school, and community) in protecting adolescents from suicidal ideation during the pandemic. Comprehensive intervention programs are needed to improve multi-level resilience factors and reduce suicide risk among US adolescents beyond the pandemic.