Differentiated effects of social participation components on suicidal ideation across age groups in South Korea

This study aimed to identify the components of social participation in Korean society and to examine the processes through which the components of social participation influence the degree of suicidal ideation people experience across age groups. Survey data from the 2010 Seoul Welfare Panel Study were used. the aggregate dataset was categorised into three groups by respondents’ ages. The groups were defined as ‘young adults’ (aged 20-39), ‘middle-aged adults’ (aged 40-64) and ‘the elderly’ (age 65 or more). Three dimensions of social participation were identified by factor analysis – friendship network & hobby group, religious involvement and instrumental social participation. In the young adult group, only instrumental participation was statistically significant (-0.10, p=0.06). In the middle-aged adult group, only friendship network & hobby group had a strong association with suicidal ideation (-0.11, p=0.01). Interestingly, for the elderly, religious involvement was related to suicidal ideation, but in a positive way (0.26, p=0.02). After further analysis, it was concluded that there was a strong association between depression and suicidal ideation among the elderly. The study results showed that different components of social participation are associated with a lower risk of suicidal ideation across age groups.