Family support can help bring down suicide risk among college students

The findings suggest strategies to reduce suicide risk in college students, such as training parents to look for early signs like social isolation.

When college students feel isolated and disconnected, support from family members can keep them from harming themselves during difficult times, says a new study.

When lonely students had high family support, they had fewer depressive symptoms compared to those with lower family support, the study found. (Shutterstock)

“Parents can serve as a first-line of defense in efforts to prevent or reduce the risk of suicide in students,” said lead author Edward Chang. The University of Michigan study consisted of 456 Hungarian college students whose ages ranged from 18 to 35.

Respondents rated the frequency of feeling isolated and the extent of family support. To assess for suicide risk, respondents indicated if they felt depressed or had suicidal thoughts during the past 12 months.

Families must also get counsellors involved to create more positive environments for students that may be at risk for suicide.

When lonely students had high family support, they had fewer depressive symptoms compared to those with lower family support, the study found. The same results were found for those who thought about suicide that family support provided a small but significant improvement from following through on self-harm.

Chang said the key is that as children grow up and out of the house, it’s important for parents to remain invested in the health of their child.

“Going away to college does not mean that young emerging adults have sufficiently established a strong social support network or cultivated the sort of coping strategies to deal with their new roles as college students,” he said. “Parents represent a child’s foundation for support and growth.”

The findings appear in the Family Journal.

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