Predicting factors of sucidal risk in adolescents

In view of the alarming and growing numbers of suicide among adolescents in our country, it is necessary to study the variables related to this behavior in order to design and implement specific prevention programs. This is a quantitative, correlational, transversal, explanatory study carried out with the purpose of determining the predictive power of the variables of sensation-seeking, self-harming behaviour and depression on suicidal risk. The sample consisted of 631 adolescents from 6 public secondary schools in the southwestern metropolitan area of Monterrey, with an age range between 11 and 18 years (M = 12.69, DT = 1.18). We applied the scales of Sensation Search, Self-harm Behaviour, Depression and Suicidal Risk (Quiroga-Garza and González-Castro 2017). Among the findings, high scores were reported for the different variables in the studied population. When performing a correlation analysis between the variables, all of them correlated positively with a level of statistical significance p < .001. Finally, the predictive model resulting from the regression analysis showed a reliable and statistically significant adjustment (F(3) = 698.98, p < .001) that explains 78.3% of the variance, being the depression variable the one that shows a greater explanatory value of the suicidal risk, followed by the self-harming behaviors and finally by the search for sensations.