Developmental trajectories of suicide risk in college students: a three-year Latent Growth Mixed Model study

Abstract

Background: This study aimed to explore the developmental trajectories of suicide risk among college students and examine the influence of demographic, psychological, and social factors on these trajectories. Methods: A three-year follow-up study was conducted with 3,723 first-year college students from a university in Guangdong Province, China. Data were collected in October 2020, 2021, and 2022 using the Suicide Behaviors Questionnaire-Revised (SBQ-R), University Personality Inventory (UPI), and Self-rating Depression Scale (SDS). Latent Growth Mixed Modeling (LGMM) was employed to analyze the trajectories of suicide risk. Results: Three distinct trajectories were identified: a “slowly decreasing suicide risk group” (81.1%), a “slowly increasing suicide risk group” (15.7%), and a “rapidly increasing suicide risk group” (3.2%). Female gender, left-behind experience, history of suicide among close relatives or acquaintances, positive psychological symptoms, and depressive symptoms were significant risk factors for higher suicide risk trajectories (all p < 0.05). Discussion: The findings highlight significant heterogeneity in suicide risk trajectories among college students, emphasizing the need for targeted interventions based on individual risk profiles.