A sex-disaggregated analysis of how emotional violence relates to suicide ideation in low- and middle-income countries

Background: In recent years, research has increasingly focused on examining the relationship between one type of child maltreatment – emotional violence – and suicidal behaviors. However, the growing body of empirical evidence supporting these associations has been mostly limited to high-income contexts. Objective: This study examines how exposure to emotional violence is associated with suicide ideation in childhood and adolescence in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), and whether this association differs by sex. Participants and setting: We employ nationally representative samples of 13–24 year-old males and females from the Violence Against Children Surveys in Tanzania (conducted in 2009), Kenya (2010), and Haiti (2012). Methods: We use logistic regressions to estimate the odds of ever reporting suicide ideation, separately, for each country; models control for self-reported exposure to emotional violence, physical violence from a caregiver, physical violence by an adult in the community, sexual violence, intimate partner violence, and age. Formal moderation by sex for each form of child maltreatment is tested using interaction terms. Results: We find the odds of suicide ideation are consistently and significantly greater for adolescents who report ever exposure to emotional violence. This same consistency is not observed for any other form of maltreatment across countries. The size of the relationship between emotional violence and suicide ideation is statistically significantly larger for males in Kenya only. Conclusion: Research in LMICs should explore the mediating factors linking emotional abuse in childhood and adolescence to suicide ideation in adolescence, paying special attention to whether these pathways might operate differently by sex.