Peer Support as Protective Factor Against Suicide Risk in Generation Z: Study in Indonesia
Abstract
Background: The mental health of Gen Z is a concern worldwide, of which suicide is one of the major causes of death. In collectivist societies such as Indonesia, the support of the peers may be a very important factor that protects the individual, however, there is still very little research evidence available to substantiate this.
Objective: This study aimed to understand the association between peer support and suicide risk in Gen Z individuals from Malang City, Indonesia.
Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on 207 Gen Z participants (mean age 21.37 years, 68.6% females) chosen through purposive sampling. Peer support was assessed by the Peer Social Support questionnaire (37 items, α=0.932), and suicide risk by the Revised Suicide Ideation Scale (10 items, α=0.941).
Results: The prevalence of high suicidal ideation was 11.6%. There was a very strong correlation between peer support and suicide risk (χ2=112.847, p<0.001, Cramér's V=0.523). As many as 97.3% of those with high peer support had low levels of suicidal ideation, while 88.2% of those with low peer support showed high levels of suicidal ideation.
Conclusion: There is a strong association between peer support and a decrease in the risk of suicide in Indonesian Gen Z which shows bigger effects than in the West. The results lead to the support of the implementation of culturally-appropriate peer-based interventions such as gatekeeper training and digital platforms.Keywords
Full Text:
PDFReferences
Arif, A. (2023). Krisis kesehatan mental menghantui Generasi Z Indonesia. Kompas. https://www.kompas.com/health/mental-health/generasi-z-indonesia
Bowersox, N. W., Jagusch, J., Garlick, J., Chen, J. I., & Pfeiffer, P. N. (2021). Peer-based interventions targeting suicide prevention: A scoping review. American Journal of Community Psychology, 68(1-2), 232-248. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajcp.12510
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2025). Suicide data and statistics. Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/suicide/facts/data.html
Christiani, L. C., & Ikasari, P. N. (2020). Generasi Z dan pemeliharaan relasi antar generasi dalam perspektif budaya Jawa. Jurnal Komunikasi dan Kajian Media, 4(2), 90-112. https://doi.org/10.31002/jkkm.v4i2.2415
Damayanti, R., Alamsyah, R., Hardi, N., & Gracia, I. (2024). Dampak urbanisasi terhadap kesehatan mental di perkotaan Indonesia dan peran intervensi kefarmasian: Studi literatur. Jurnal Kajian Perkotaan, 6(1), 1-10. https://doi.org/10.24912/jkp.v6i1.5531
Fatmawati, A., & Pratiwi, A. D. (2022). Dukungan sosial teman sebaya dan kejadian ide bunuh diri pada mahasiswa. Jurnal Ilmiah Kesehatan, 6(2), 226-231. https://e-jurnal.iphorr.com/index.php/hjk/article/download/549/610/3739
Henderson, T. (2025). Suicide claims more Gen Z lives than previous generation. Stateline. https://stateline.org/2025/10/02/suicide-claims-more-gen-z-lives-than-previous-generation/
Iorfino, F., Cross, S. P., Davenport, T., Carpenter, J. S., Scott, E., Shiran, S., & Hickie, I. B. (2023). The effectiveness of peer support from a person with lived experience of mental health challenges for young people with anxiety and depression: A systematic review. BMJ Open, 13(3), e065869. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2022-065869
Ito, B. (2023, May 9). Confronting mental health barriers in the Asian American and Pacific Islander community. UCLA Health. https://www.uclahealth.org/news/article/confronting-mental-health-barriers-asian-american-and-pacific-islander-community
Kartika, C. A., Alfianto, A. G., & Mizam, A. K. (2020). Pertolongan pertama kesehatan jiwa pada siswa dengan masalah psikososial yang berisiko bunuh diri. Jurnal Keperawatan Jiwa, 3(2), 161-172. https://doi.org/10.26714/jkj.3.2.2020.161-172
Klim, C., Vitous, C. A., Keller-Cohen, D., Vega, E., Forman, J., Lapidos, A., Abraham, K. M., & Pfeiffer, P. N. (2022). Characterizing suicide-related self-disclosure by peer specialists: A qualitative analysis of audio-recorded sessions. Advances in Mental Health, 20(2), 170-180. https://doi.org/10.1080/18387357.2021.2010585
Krisnandita, G. O., & Christanti, D. (2022). Hubungan antara religiusitas dengan kecenderungan bunuh diri pada individu dewasa awal. Jurnal Pendidikan dan Konseling, 4(5), 3362-3371. https://doi.org/10.31004/jpdk.v4i5.6587
Mansur, A. (2022). Karakteristik siswa Generasi Z dan kebutuhan akan pengembangan bidang bimbingan dan konseling. Indonesian Journal of Educational Counseling, 17(1), 120-130. https://doi.org/10.29408/edc.v17i1.5922
Mann, J. J., Michel, C. A., & Auerbach, R. P. (2021). Improving suicide prevention through evidence-based strategies: A systematic review. American Journal of Psychiatry, 178(7), 611-624. https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ajp.2020.20060864
Mulyani, A. A., & Eridiana, W. (2020). Faktor-faktor yang melatarbelakangi fenomena bunuh diri di Gunungkidul. Sosietas, 8(2), 510-516. https://doi.org/10.17509/sosietas.v8i2.14593
Nasution, R. A., Prayitno, H. J., & Yusuf, A. (2025). Suicide prevention program on suicidal behaviors and mental wellbeing among school aged adolescents: A scoping review. Frontiers in Public Health, 13, 1506321. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2025.1506321
Nurdien, F. G., & Galuh, A. K. (2023). Pengaruh literasi keuangan dan literasi digital terhadap preferensi menggunakan QRIS BSI Mobile: Studi kasus Gen Z di Kota Malang. Jurnal Ekonomi Syariah, 2(4), 588-601. https://doi.org/10.31004/jes.v2i4.12543
Pfeiffer, P. N., Abraham, K. M., Lapidos, A., Vega, E., Jagusch, J., Garlick, J., Pasiak, S., Ganoczy, D., Kim, H. M., Ahmedani, B., Ilgen, M., & King, C. (2025). Peer support intervention for suicide prevention among high-risk adults in Michigan: A randomized clinical trial. JAMA Network Open, 8(5), e2510808. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2025.10808
Racine, N., McArthur, B. A., Cooke, J. E., Eirich, R., Zhu, J., & Madigan, S. (2021). Global prevalence of depressive and anxiety symptoms in children and adolescents during COVID-19: A meta-analysis. JAMA Pediatrics, 175(11), 1142-1150. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamapediatrics.2021.2482
Rahadiansyah, M. R., & Chusairi, A. (2021). Pengaruh dukungan sosial teman sebaya terhadap tingkat stres mahasiswa yang mengerjakan skripsi. Buletin Riset Psikologi dan Kesehatan Mental, 1(2), 1290-1297. https://doi.org/10.20473/brpkm.v1i2.29077
Sawitri, D. R. (2022). Perkembangan karier Generasi Z: Tantangan dan strategi dalam mewujudkan SDM Indonesia yang unggul. Jurnal Ilmu Keperawatan Indonesia, 4(1), 45-62. https://doi.org/10.33221/jiki.v4i1.1245
Su-Kubricht, L. P., Chen, H. M., Guo, S., Barlow, F. K., & Miller, R. B. (2025). Towards culturally sensitive care: Addressing challenges in Asian and Asian American mental health services. Contemporary Family Therapy, 47, 202-215. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10591-024-09716-w
Suprayanti, R., Nauli, F. A., & Indriati, G. (2021). Gambaran perilaku self injury dan risiko bunuh diri pada mahasiswa. Health Care: Jurnal Kesehatan, 10(2), 305-312. https://doi.org/10.36763/healthcare.v10i2.133
The Annie E. Casey Foundation. (2024). Generation Z's mental health issues. https://www.aecf.org/blog/generation-z-and-mental-health
Tyas, M. Y. S., Alfianto, A. G., & Rahmawati, W. (2022). Gambaran kesehatan jiwa pada Generasi Z di kelompok pemuda gereja Kota Malang: Laporan kasus. Jurnal Kesehatan Hesti Wira Sakti, 10(1), 29-34. https://doi.org/10.47794/jkhws.v10i1.359
Wahyuni, S., Zakso, A., & Salim, I. (2020). Fenomena bunuh diri dan hubungannya dengan tingkat pendidikan dan jenis kelamin. Proceedings International Conference on Teaching and Education (ICoTE), 2, 117-122. https://doi.org/10.31002/icote.v2i1.3245
Widiyanto, A., Atmojo, J. T., & Widyastuti, R. H. (2023). Coping mechanism among Generation Z during the COVID-19 pandemic in Indonesia. Journal of Public Health Research, 12(2), 22799036231165982. https://doi.org/10.1177/22799036231165982
Zhang, H., & Han, B. (2022). Understanding cultural factors in mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic: When collectivism meets a tight culture. Current Psychology, 42(17), 14562-14574. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-022-03780-x
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.33757/jik.v9i2.1504
Refbacks
- There are currently no refbacks.
Copyright (c) 2025 JIK JURNAL ILMU KESEHATAN
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
E-ISSN : 2597-8594 (Online) P-ISSN : 2580-930X (Print)
Publish by Universitas Alifah Padang
Jl. Khatib Sulaiman No 52 B Kota Padang. Telp 0751-7059849. Fax 0751-7059849. Website: www.alifah.ac.id
Email : jik@alifah.ac.id