Mental health challenges and academic exclusion—particularly non-thesis status and inadequate supervisory or institutional support—are key contributors to suicidal ideation among university students in Bangladesh.
The prevalence of past-year suicidal ideation among university students and recent graduates in Bangladesh was 14.0%.
Anxiety was significantly associated with suicidal ideation in the adjusted model.
Insomnia was significantly associated with suicidal ideation in the adjusted model.
Students not engaged in thesis work had significantly higher odds of suicidal ideation.
Students not interested in publishing their theses had significantly higher odds of suicidal ideation.
Among students engaged in thesis work, several research-related factors were associated with suicidal ideation in unadjusted analyses.
The study identified mental health conditions and academic exclusion as key contributors to suicidal ideation in a low- and middle-income country academic context.
This research surveyed 508 university students and recent graduates in Bangladesh to examine connections between their academic research experiences and thoughts of suicide. The study found that about 1 in 7 participants (14%) reported having suicidal thoughts in the past year. Two mental health factors—anxiety and insomnia—were strongly linked to suicidal ideation even after accounting for other variables. Notably, students who were not involved in thesis work were more likely to report suicidal ideation, suggesting that being excluded from academic research activities may itself be a risk factor. Among students who were doing thesis work, additional factors mattered: having poor access to supervisors, receiving unclear academic guidance, lacking support for publishing their work, and perceiving their institution as unsupportive of research were all associated with higher rates of suicidal ideation. Students who were not interested in publishing their thesis also showed notably higher odds of suicidal ideation, which may reflect disengagement or demoralization about their academic futures. This research suggests that in resource-limited academic settings like Bangladesh, suicide risk among university students is not only tied to individual mental health conditions but also to structural and institutional factors such as whether students have access to thesis supervision, mentorship, and research support. The findings point to a need for universities—particularly in lower-income countries—to create more inclusive research environments, improve access to mental health services, and build stronger mentorship systems to support student well-being.
Huraira M, Khan M, Begum M, Das P, Faruk M, Rahman S, et al.. (2026). No Thesis, No Future! Exploring the associations between research inaccessibility and suicidal ideation.. PloS one. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0345636