Learning disabilities and adolescent suicidal ideation: Findings from the z-proso cohort study

Abstract

Objective: To investigate suicidal ideation among adolescents with learning disabilities and examine whether learning disabilities and a range of risk and protective factors assessed at age 13 are associated with suicidal ideation at age 15. Methods: Longitudinal data were drawn from a youth population -based cohort (Zurich Project on the Social Development from Childhood to Adulthood [z -proso]; N = 1,675). Modified Poisson regression was used to estimate the relative risk of suicidal ideation at age 15, with learning disabilities along with the other variables as predictors. An additional model included an interaction term between learning disabilities and anxiety/depression symptoms to test whether the association between anxiety/depression and suicidal ideation varied by learning disability status. Average marginal effects were used to estimate absolute differences in predicted probabilities between groups. Results: Adolescents with learning disabilities reported significantly higher rates of suicidal ideation (32.5%) and self-injury (18.4%) compared to peers without learning disabilities. They showed elevated levels of most risk factors and lower levels of protective factors. Significant predictors of increased relative risk of suicidal ideation included female sex, anxiety/depression symptoms, bullying experiences, and learning disabilities, the latter associated with a 40.2% higher risk (RR = 1.402, 95% CI = [1.070, 1.387]). Average marginal effects indicated that anxiety/depression significantly increased suicidal ideation risk among adolescents without learning disabilities but not among those with learning disabilities. Conclusions: Findings suggest that learning disabilities are a significant risk factor for adolescent suicidal ideation, highlighting the need for early identification, tailored assessment, and targeted prevention strategies.