ASSOCIATION BETWEEN BLACKOUT DRINKING AND SUICIDAL BEHAVIOR AMONG KOREAN ADOLESCENTS
Authors: Park *Sunghyeon , Chun Ji-Won , Kim Dai Jin 
Published: February 2025

Introduction

Suicide among Korean adolescents is a major public health issue, with the suicide rates among teenagers and individuals in their twenties standing at 337 and 1,394 per 100,000, respectively (Statistics Korea, 2023). Adolescence is a period marked by rapid physical, psychological, and emotional changes, which are associated with various stress factors. Specifically, serious forms of alcohol addiction like blackout drinking can have detrimental effects not only on physical health but also on mental health, potentially leading to suicidal behaviors.

Aims & Objectives

Previous studies have shown a general association between drinking-related behaviors and suicidal behaviors (Lee et al., 2021; Sher &Zalsman, 2005). However, there has been a lack of specific investigation into the direct association between blackout drinking and suicidal behaviors. This study aims to clarify the relationship between blackout drinking and suicidal behavior to contribute to the development of timely intervention strategies for suicide prevention.

Method

This study utilized data from the Adolescent Health Behavior Survey (N=51,850) published by the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency in 2022, and conducted logistic regression analysis. After excluding missing values, data from 46,771 individuals were analyzed. The primary independent variables were drinking status, amount of alcohol consumed, and blackout experience within the last 30 days, while the primary dependent variables were suicidal ideation, suicidal planning, and suicide attempts. Anxiety score (GAD), gender, grade level, age, academic performance, socioeconomic status, subjective health status, and subjective body satisfaction were set as control variables.

Results

From the logistic regression analysis for suicidal ideation, suicidal planning, and suicide attempts, it was found that blackout experience was significant in both suicidal ideation and planning (OR: 1.6, p &lt;0.001 / OR: 1.79, p &lt;0.001), and both blackout experience and amount of alcohol consumed were significant in suicide attempts (OR: 1.88, p &lt;0.001 / OR: 1.16, p &lt;0.01). However, recent drinking status was not significant for all dependent variables.

Discussion & Conclusion

The results indicate that recent blackout drinking experiences increased the likelihood of suicidal ideation, suicide plans, and suicide attempts by 60%, 79%, and 88% respectively among adolescents. These findings suggest the necessity to consider blackout drinking experiences and the amount of alcohol consumed more carefully than recent drinking status for prevention and intervention of suicidal behaviors in adolescents. By shedding light on the relationship between blackout drinking and suicidal behavior, this study hopes to provide valuable insights for developing more effective intervention strategies for suicide prevention among adolescents.

References

1.Statistics Korea, 2023, 2022 Statistics on Causes of Death.

2.Lee JW, Kim BJ, Lee CS, Cha B, Lee SJ, Lee D, Seo J, Lee YJ, Lee YJ, Lim E, Choi JW. 2021, ‘Association Between Suicide and Drinking Habits in Adolescents’. Soa Chongsonyon Chongsin Uihak. Vol. 32, no. 4, pp. 161-169, doi: 10.5765/jkacap.210024. PMID: 34671189; PMCID: PMC8499040.

3.Sher L, Zalsman G. 2005. ‘Alcohol and adolescent suicide’. Int J Adolesc Med Health. Vol. 17, no. 3, pp. 197-203. doi: 10.1515/ijamh.2005.17.3.197. PMID: 16231470.