Abstract:
Objectives: Gender plays an important role in the psychological well-being of adolescents. This study compared the prevalence of suicidal ideation and deliberate self-harm in adolescent males and females in a coastal district in Sri Lanka severely affected by the 2004 tsunami disaster. Methods: A sample of 971(about 6% of the target population) high school children (376 (38.7%) males and 595 (61.3%) females), aged 18-19, were surveyed using a self-report, anonymous questionnaire in the local language. Results: Females reported suicidal ideation at least once in their lifetime more frequently than males (12.1% vs. 6.5%, p
