General mental health, family health and suicidal behaviors among youth in Jinja

Abstract

This study examined how general mental health and family health relate to suicidal behaviors among youth in Jinja, Uganda, and assessed whether family health mediates this relationship. Using a cross-sectional correlational design, data were collected from 250 participants aged 15–29 using the GHQ-12, Family Health Scale, Suicidal Ideation Questionnaire, and SBQ-R, and analyzed with SPSS v27 and Hayes’ PROCESS macro. Findings showed high psychological distress, with 47.6% of youth reporting moderate distress, 32.0% severe distress, and 20.0% mild distress. Family functioning was also poor for most respondents, with 64.8% in the poor range. Although 98% of participants were classified as low suicide risk, 2% were at high risk. Significant correlations emerged between general mental health and suicidal behaviors (r = –.208, p = .001), family health and suicidal behaviors (r = .165, p = .009), and family health and general mental health (r = –.203, p = .001). Mediation analysis further revealed that family health partially mediated the relationship between general mental health and suicidal behaviors (indirect effect = –.0121, 95% CI: –.0310, –.0008, p < .05). Overall, the results indicate that poor mental health directly elevates suicidal behaviors and that weak family functioning intensifies this risk. The findings highlight the need for interventions that strengthen both individual mental health and family environments as an integrated approach to reducing suicide risk among youth in Uganda.