Laura Ladekarl, Class of 2025

Amid a growing mental health crisis, suicide is a leading cause of death in adolescents. It particularly affects those from a lower socio-economic status due to limited access to sufficient and nutritious food. Food insecurity can impact cognitive-affective states, and adolescents facing it often report social isolation and feelings of shame, sadness, and family strain. Dr. Steare and his colleagues at University College London, London School of Economics, and King’s College London hypothesized that adolescents experiencing food insecurity are at a greater risk of experiencing suicidal ideations and behaviors than those who have food security. 

The researchers of this study utilized the Global School Student Health Survey (GSHS) to investigate cross-country variations in adolescent suicidal thoughts and behaviors based on the prevalence of food insecurity and other factors. They analyzed the data by running a Poisson regression model. The test helped the researchers compare suicidal thoughts and behaviors of those experiencing food insecurity to those who are food-secure. The participants in this study were gathered from 152 previously completed surveys across 104 countries, from which they used the data of 315,505 total school-attending adolescents from 83 countries. 

In 65 out of the 83 countries, the prevalence of suicidal ideation was lower in most food-secure adolescents, with Myanmar, who had an 85% difference in prevalence, having the greatest disparity between the food-insecure and the food-secure adolescents. 58 countries showed the same pattern, with suicidal planning’s prevalence being highest in the least food-secure, with North Macedonia having the highest disparity. Lastly, the prevalence of suicide attempts followed the same pattern, with Morocco having the strongest disparity. Overall, the findings indicated that adolescents who were experiencing food insecurity were more likely to report suicidal thoughts and make suicide plans or an attempt, supporting Steare’s hypothesis.

Though this research supports that food insecurity is strongly linked to adolescent mental health problems, the authors urge for policy development to reduce food insecurity among adolescents and develop programs that provide food and mental health assistance to those struggling. Even though food insecurity is a preventable stressor, future research should be done by including a larger sample size of adolescents within a country, not just those attending school. This may have created biased data, as adolescents who are facing food insecurity in their homes may not have the means to attend school. 

Figure 1 Person giving food to someone sitting on a curb

Works Cited:

[1] Steare, T., Lewis, G., Evans-Lacko, S., Pitman, A., Rose-Clarke, K., & Patalay, P. (2024). Food Insecurity, Adolescent Suicidal Thoughts and Behaviors, and Country-Level Context: A Multi-Country Cross-Sectional Analysis. The Journal of adolescent health: official publication of the Society for Adolescent Medicine, 74(3), 545–555. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2023.10.018

[2] Image Retrieved From: https://www.pexels.com/photo/person-giving-alms-to-the-poor-9532273/