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

## TL;DR

This study tracks suicide risk changes in college students over three years and identifies different risk patterns influenced by personal and social factors.

## Contribution

The study introduces a three-year longitudinal analysis of suicide risk trajectories using LGMM in a large sample of Chinese college students.

## Key findings

- Three suicide risk trajectories were identified: slowly decreasing, slowly increasing, and rapidly increasing.
- Female gender, left-behind experience, and depressive symptoms were significant risk factors for higher suicide risk trajectories.
- The findings suggest the need for targeted interventions based on individual risk profiles.

## Abstract

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.

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.

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).

The findings highlight significant heterogeneity in suicide risk trajectories among college students, emphasizing the need for targeted interventions based on individual risk profiles.