The Association between Depression and Suicidal Ideation among Postgraduate University Students

Suicide is one of the leading causes of death in university students and is often associated with depression. This study examined the associations between depression and suicidal ideation among male and female postgraduate university students. This study utilized a survey using simple random sampling methodology involving 60 respondents (30 male and 30 female) chosen at random from different streams of Sikkim University, India. The participants were assessed by using Beck Suicidal Ideation (BSI) and Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II).The data were analysed by using mean, standard deviation and descriptive statistics –Pearson method of correlation and non-parametric statistics like t-test. The findings indicated that suicidal ideation was negatively associated with depression, and no significant gender difference was found on depression. Reviewed research revealed similar suicidal risk factors for males and females. However, the prevalence and strength of prediction of certain risk factors were found to vary gender-specifically. These findings support the utility of gender-sensitive suicide assessment, prevention and intervention strategies. It was recommended that suicide prevention programs, counselling centers, and psychology clinics on university campus should include suicide attitudes such as depression, anxiety, and stress in their assessment and identification of individuals who may be at risk for engaging in suicide behaviour.