Suicidal Ideation and Suicide Attempts Among the Pakistani Population, and Reason for Attempting Suicide Among Suicide Survivors

Objective Suicide among people is a major public mental health concern, particularly in a developing nation like Pakistan. But limited mixed‐method studies were conducted to understand more in‐depth about suicide. Thus, the present study was carried out to investigate suicidal ideation and suicide attempts among the general population and the reason for attempting suicide among Pakistani suicide survivors. Methods A mixed‐method approach was used to conduct the study in two phases. In the first phase, an online survey was conducted in which suicidal ideation and suicidal attempts were accessed among the Pakistani population ( n = 5365) using the chi‐square test. In the second phase, a thematic analysis was used to identify the risk factors for suicide attempts from n = 30 case reports. Results The overall prevalence of suicide ideation and suicide attempt was 45.7% and 9.9%, respectively. The transgender showed the highest rate of suicidal ideation (59.1%), followed by females (46.9%) and males (44%); whereas the rate of suicide attempt was 10.5% for males and 10.6% for females. Risk factors for suicide attempts included mental disorder, relationship conflicts, sexual abuse, self‐harm, eating disorders, toxic family environment, sexual identity, societal pressure, lack of social support, academic pressure, and bullying. Conclusion A high proportion of the general population had suicidal behavior. The findings can be used to promote a comprehensive suicide prevention plan, improve mental healthcare, follow up on suicide attempts, and promote stress management practices.