Table 1.
Participants’ characteristics.
| Total (N = 7795) | Nil thoughts of suicide or self-harm (N = 6976) | Occasional thoughts of suicide or self-harm (N = 557) | Frequent thoughts of suicide or self-harm (N = 262) | p-value | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| n (%) | n (%) | n (%) | |||
| Sex | < 0.001 | ||||
| Male | 1452 (19) | 1266 (18) | 120 (22) | 66 (25) | |
| Female | 6300 (81) | 5681 (81) | 428 (77) | 191 (73) | |
| Non-binary / prefer not to say | 43 (1) | 29 (0) | 9 (2) | 5 (2) | |
| Age, years | < 0.001 | ||||
| ⩽30 | 1848 (24) | 1582 (23) | 177 (32) | 89 (34) | |
| 31–40 | 2237 (29) | 2000 (29) | 155 (28) | 82 (31) | |
| 41–50 | 1730 (22) | 1575 (23) | 116 (21) | 39 (15) | |
| >50 | 1980 (25) | 1819 (26) | 109 (20) | 52 (20) | |
| Occupation | 0.089 | ||||
| Medicine | 2447 (31) | 2222 (32) | 157 (28) | 68 (26) | |
| Nursing | 3053 (39) | 2710 (39) | 228 (41) | 115 (44) | |
| Allied health | 1564 (20) | 1404 (20) | 113 (20) | 47 (18) | |
| Other | 730 (9) | 639 (9) | 59 (11) | 32 (12) | |
| Location | 0.381 | ||||
| Metropolitan | 6335 (81) | 5684 (81) | 442 (79) | 209 (80) | |
| Regional / rural | 1460 (19) | 1292 (19) | 115 (21) | 53 (20) | |
| State | 0.763 | ||||
| Victoria | 6643 (85) | 5947 (85) | 470 (84) | 226 (86) | |
| Other | 1152 (15) | 1029 (15) | 87 (16) | 36 (14) | |
| Area of work | 0.019 | ||||
| Emergency department | 1140 (15) | 1011 (14) | 86 (15) | 43 (16) | |
| Intensive care | 742 (10) | 674 (10) | 48 (9) | 20 (8) | |
| Surgical specialty areas | 818 (10) | 712 (10) | 77 (14) | 29 (11) | |
| Medical specialty areas | 3079 (40) | 2757 (40) | 213 (38) | 109 (42) | |
| Primary / community care | 1324 (17) | 1217 (17) | 75 (13) | 32 (12) | |
| Other | 691 (9) | 604 (9) | 58 (10) | 29 (11) | |
| Physical health | < 0.001 | ||||
| Excellent / good | 6396 (82) | 5818 (83) | 413 (74) | 165 (63) | |
| Fair / poor | 1399 (18) | 1158 (17) | 144 (26) | 97 (37) | |
| Previous mental illness | < 0.001 | ||||
| Yes | 2375 (30) | 1909 (27) | 299 (54) | 167 (64) | |
| No | 5420 (70) | 5067 (73) | 258 (46) | 95 (36) | |
| Lives alone | 0.002 | ||||
| Yes | 1078 (14) | 934 (13) | 92 (17) | 52 (20) | |
| No | 6717 (86) | 6042 (87) | 465 (83) | 210 (80) | |
| Children at home | < 0.001 | ||||
| Yes | 2730 (35) | 2506 (36) | 161 (29) | 63 (24) | |
| No | 5065 (65) | 4470 (64) | 396 (71) | 199 (76) | |
| Income worries | < 0.001 | ||||
| Yes | 2397 (31) | 2041 (29) | 219 (39) | 137 (52) | |
| No | 5398 (69) | 4935 (71) | 338 (61) | 125 (48) | |
| Increased alcohol use | < 0.001 | ||||
| Yes | 2056 (26) | 1747 (25) | 184 (33) | 125 (48) | |
| No | 5739 (74) | 5529 (75) | 373 (67) | 137 (52) | |
| Friends or relatives with COVID-19 | < 0.001 | ||||
| Yes | 2386 (31) | 2093 (30) | 181 (32) | 112 (43) | |
| No | 5409 (69) | 4883 (70) | 376 (68) | 150 (57) | |
| Exposed to COVID-19 patients (suspected or confirmed) | 0.003 | ||||
| Yes | 4536 (58) | 4020 (58) | 341 (61) | 175 (67) | |
| No | 3246 (42) | 2946 (42) | 214 (39) | 86 (33) |