Qualidade de vida como mediador na relação entre estresse e risco de suicídio em pós-graduandos

Abstract

Introduction: The risk of suicide related to stress can greatly affect the lives of postgraduatestudents, and given the subjectivity of the phenomenon, some variables can mediate this relationship, including quality of life (QoL). Objective: To analyze the mediating role of quality of life domains in the relationship between stress and suicide risk in postgraduate students. Method: cross-sectional study, developed in Brazilian territory with 3,196 strictosensu postgraduate students, from May to July 2022. In online data collection, the following were used: questionnaire with sociodemographic and academic characteristics; Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI), WHOQOL-Bref, and Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale. Data analysis was carried out in the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS), using mean, standard deviation, absolute and relative frequencies. In the correlational analysis, Pearson's r coefficient was calculated and to verify the mediating effects of the QOL domains, multiple mediation analysis was carried out usingmacroPROCESS, from SPSS. The study was approved by the Health Research Ethics Committee of the University of São Paulo. Results: In total, 31.9% of students were at risk for current suicide, passive suicidal ideation 72.16%, active suicidal ideation 42.32%, suicidal plans 26.89%, lifetime history of attempts 40, 33% and 1.13% reported attempting suicide in the last month. Stress had a positive and significant impact onthe risk of suicide and the QoL domains were, in part, negative predictors of suicide risk. The lower thelevels of quality of life in the psychological and social domains, the greater the probabilityof risk for suicide and the increase in stress decreased QoL levels. Multiple and parallel mediation showed the direct effect (c) of the main relationship (stress and suicide risk) indicating partial mediation. The analysis of indirect effects demonstrated the mediating effect for the psychological domain with a proportion of 7%. Conclusions: The identification of mediation in the psychological domain can help in reflection to develop equitable actions aimed at preventing and reducing suicidal risk in postgraduatestudents.