Association of unhealthy lifestyles and suicidal behaviors among Chinese middle school students: a latent class analysis

Abstract

Background: The unhealthy lifestyles not only affect physical development of adolescents but are also closely related to various psychological problems. This article will examine potential classes of middle school students' lifestyles and explore the associations between lifestyles and suicidal behaviors. Methods: Data were collected from a cross-sectional survey of middle schools in five cities of Guangxi. A total of 5291 students completed the short questionnaire on suicidal behaviors and lifestyles. The latent class analysis was used to identify the unrecorded patterns of lifestyles. Multifactor logistic regression was used to explore the associations between health lifestyles and suicidal behaviors. Results: The three classes lifestyles were identified: Class1(8.0%) – high risk lifestyle group, Class2(18.6%)—high lack of exercise group, and Class3(73.5%) – low risk lifestyle group, respectively. Middle school students among Class 1 had higher odds than Class 3 (OR = 2.061, 95%CI = 1.474 ~ 2.882、OR = 3.323, 95%CI = 2.185 ~ 5.052 for self-injurious thoughts; OR = 2.008, 95%CI = 1.438 ~ 2.804、OR = 3.217, 95%CI = 2.125 ~ 4.868 for suicidal ideations; OR = 1.488, 95%CI = 1.063 ~ 2.081、OR = 2.718, 95%CI = 1.744 ~ 4.236 for self-injurious behaviors) for experiencing self-injurious thoughts, suicidal ideation, and self-injurious behaviors, whether occurring once, five times, or more, respectively. Class 2 were only more likely to engage in self-injurious behavior at once compared to Class 3(OR = 1.414, 95%CI = 1.110 ~ 1.800). Conclusions: This finding highlighted the importance of improving unhealthy lifestyles for preventing and intervening in suicidal behavior among middle school students. More actions for intervention in the lifestyles of students should be needed to ensure their physical and mental health.