Suicide ideation in adolescent South Africans. The role of gender and coping strategies

With an increasing number of studies showing a rise in adolescent suicidal behaviour and a wealth of literature concerning adolescent coping strategies, this study examined both these issues within a South African context. The interplay between social, political, and economic factors in South Africa, with its history of apartheid, must impact upon the lives of adolescents living in this country and play a role in stress, depression, and feelings of hopelessness, helplessness, and possible suicidal ideation. The objectives of the study were to determine the coping strategies exhibited by a South African sample of adolescents, the relationship between these coping strategies and suicidal ideation, and to investigate whether gender had any influence on this relationship. This study therefore aimed to get a better understanding of the relationship between the variables: suicidal ideation, coping strategy, and gender. Such research is important in learning to understand how adolescents cope, in order for caregivers and professionals in the field to be able to identify potential suicide ideators through their behaviours and coping strategies. A sample of 161 adolescents in grade eleven completed a demographic questionnaire, the Positive and Negative Suicidal Ideation Scale (PANSI), and The Coping Across Situations Questionnaire (CASQ). The findings indicated the majority of the sample (51%) had a positive outlook on life, feeling optimistic about the future most or a good part of the time. Further results showed that males and females followed the same pattern of coping by scoring highest on the functional coping strategies and lowest on the dysfunctional one. There was a significant difference between males and females on each coping strategy, with females scoring higher than males in each case. Correlation studies indicated a positive significant relationship between active coping (functional coping strategy) and positive suicidal ideation scores (positive outlook on life) and between withdrawal (dysfunctional coping strategy) and negative suicidal ideation scores (negative outlook on life). Results for each gender differed, with the female sub-sample revealing significant correlations between functional coping strategies and positive suicidal ideation scores, while the only significant correlation found within the male sub-sample was between the dysfunctional coping strategy and negative suicidal ideation scores.