Why is Korean girls' suicidal ideation rate higher than boys' rate? The role of gender heterogeneity in peer groups.

Girls typically show much lower suicide rates than boys in most OECD countries. However, in South Korea, the suicide rate of girls almost reaches that of boys. Moreover, Korean girls' suicide rate is remarkable even among other advanced countries. One potential approach to explaining Korean gir...

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Main Authors: Youngjoon Bae, Jaein Lee
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2023-01-01
Series:PLoS ONE
Online Access:https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0290072&type=printable
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author Youngjoon Bae
Jaein Lee
author_facet Youngjoon Bae
Jaein Lee
author_sort Youngjoon Bae
collection DOAJ
description Girls typically show much lower suicide rates than boys in most OECD countries. However, in South Korea, the suicide rate of girls almost reaches that of boys. Moreover, Korean girls' suicide rate is remarkable even among other advanced countries. One potential approach to explaining Korean girls' relatively high suicide rate is to investigate how their peer groups affect suicidal ideation, but this approach has rarely been explored in Korean adolescents. We tested how the gender heterogeneity of peer groups is associated with suicidal ideation by analyzing 2,990 adolescents from the 2018 Korean Children and Youth Well-Being Index Survey. For the analysis, logistic regression models with survey weights were used. The analysis revealed that adolescents with different-gender friends were associated with a higher likelihood of suicidal ideation than those with exclusively same-gender friends when adjusting for covariates. In addition, an analysis stratified by gender found that this association was significant only among girls. Furthermore, the protective power of having a mentor against suicidal ideation was significantly lower in girls with male and female friends than in girls with only female friends. The findings suggest a less protective role of different-gender peer groups for suicidal ideation among girls. During adolescent suicidality consultations, school counselors and practitioners should pay attention to the characteristics of adolescents' peers, particularly their gender.
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spelling doaj.art-2955040a67064acd867ef0e6a3311d322023-09-12T05:32:09ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032023-01-01189e029007210.1371/journal.pone.0290072Why is Korean girls' suicidal ideation rate higher than boys' rate? The role of gender heterogeneity in peer groups.Youngjoon BaeJaein LeeGirls typically show much lower suicide rates than boys in most OECD countries. However, in South Korea, the suicide rate of girls almost reaches that of boys. Moreover, Korean girls' suicide rate is remarkable even among other advanced countries. One potential approach to explaining Korean girls' relatively high suicide rate is to investigate how their peer groups affect suicidal ideation, but this approach has rarely been explored in Korean adolescents. We tested how the gender heterogeneity of peer groups is associated with suicidal ideation by analyzing 2,990 adolescents from the 2018 Korean Children and Youth Well-Being Index Survey. For the analysis, logistic regression models with survey weights were used. The analysis revealed that adolescents with different-gender friends were associated with a higher likelihood of suicidal ideation than those with exclusively same-gender friends when adjusting for covariates. In addition, an analysis stratified by gender found that this association was significant only among girls. Furthermore, the protective power of having a mentor against suicidal ideation was significantly lower in girls with male and female friends than in girls with only female friends. The findings suggest a less protective role of different-gender peer groups for suicidal ideation among girls. During adolescent suicidality consultations, school counselors and practitioners should pay attention to the characteristics of adolescents' peers, particularly their gender.https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0290072&type=printable
spellingShingle Youngjoon Bae
Jaein Lee
Why is Korean girls' suicidal ideation rate higher than boys' rate? The role of gender heterogeneity in peer groups.
PLoS ONE
title Why is Korean girls' suicidal ideation rate higher than boys' rate? The role of gender heterogeneity in peer groups.
title_full Why is Korean girls' suicidal ideation rate higher than boys' rate? The role of gender heterogeneity in peer groups.
title_fullStr Why is Korean girls' suicidal ideation rate higher than boys' rate? The role of gender heterogeneity in peer groups.
title_full_unstemmed Why is Korean girls' suicidal ideation rate higher than boys' rate? The role of gender heterogeneity in peer groups.
title_short Why is Korean girls' suicidal ideation rate higher than boys' rate? The role of gender heterogeneity in peer groups.
title_sort why is korean girls suicidal ideation rate higher than boys rate the role of gender heterogeneity in peer groups
url https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0290072&type=printable
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