Epidemiology of non-fatal suicidal behavior among first-year university students in South Africa

Supplemental data for this article can be accessed on the publisher's website.We used a cross-sectional web-based survey and discrete-time survival analysis with person-year as unit of analysis and retrospective age-of-onset reports to estimate prevalence and predictors of suicidal ideation, plan, and attempt, and transitions from ideation to plan and attempt among South African university students (<i>n</i> = 1402). The lifetime prevalence of ideation, plan, and attempt were 46.4% (<i>n =</i> 650), 26.5% (<i>n =</i> 372), and 8.6% (<i>n =</i> 120), respectively. Multiple temporally primary mental disorders predicted subsequent onset of suicidality and transitions from ideation to plan and attempt. Results highlight the need for campus-based suicide prevention in South Africa, vulnerability of historically disadvantaged students, and the importance of promoting mental health in suicide prevention.