Emotion dysregulation associated with suicide risk in adolescent university students: A case study of USIU-Africa.

Bernice Nderitu, Psy.D. in Clinical Psychology Candidate; Michael Kihara, Ph.D., United States International University-Africa, Nairobi, Kenya; & Dana Basnight-Brown, Ph.D., John Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, United States of America.

Suicide is a major mental health burden, and Africa has the highest burden globally. Adolescence is a turbulent developmental period with multiple transitions, growth, maturation, and emotional lability. Emotional dysregulation is a transdiagnostic risk factor associated with suicide risk. The current study examined associations between emotion dysregulation and suicide risk in a community sample of adolescents using descriptive-analytic, cross-sectional design. The study participants were 352 adolescents aged 18 and 19 and enrolled at the United States International University-Africa (USIU-Africa). The instruments used were the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERs) and The Columbia Suicide Severity Rating Scale Short Version (C-SSRS). Results indicated that 75.8% had low risk, 2% had moderate risk, and 22.5% had a high risk of suicide. In addition, participants with high suicidal risk had significantly higher emotion regulation difficulties than those with low suicidal risk, p = 0.003. In conclusion, emotion dysregulation is associated with suicide risk in adolescent university students.

Key Words: Suicide, Suicidal Thoughts and Behaviors, Suicide Risk, Adolescence, Emotion Dysregulation.