Suicide clusters among young Kenyan men

Michael L. Goodman, Eve S. Puffer, Philip H. Keiser, Stanley Gitari

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

1 Scopus citations

Abstract

Suicide is a leading cause of global mortality. Suicide clusters have recently been identified among peer networks in high-income countries. This study investigates dynamics of suicide clustering within social networks of young Kenya men (n = 532; 18–34 years). We found a strong, statistically significant association between reported number of friends who previously attempted suicide and present suicide ideation (odds ratio = 1.9; 95% confidence interval (1.42, 2.54); p < 0.001). This association was mediated by lower collective self-esteem (23% of total effect). Meaning in life further mediated the association between collective self-esteem and suicide ideation. Survivors of peer suicide should be evaluated for suicide risk.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)1004-1013
Number of pages10
JournalJournal of Health Psychology
Volume25
Issue number7
DOIs
StatePublished - Jun 1 2020

Keywords

  • Kenya
  • collective self-esteem
  • meaning in life
  • social cluster
  • suicide ideation
  • young men

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Applied Psychology

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