Suicidal Ideation, Attempts and Attitudes in Youth

Suicide is a significant public health problem in youth. This study comparatively investigated the prevalence of suicidal thoughts, attempts and attitudes in high school and university students. A total of 3.031 (high school = 1.630, university = 1.401) Turkish students participated in the study. Self-administered measuring tools were used to collect the data. More high school than university students reported suicide ideation (high school = 36.1%, university = 29.0%) and attempts (high school = 9.4%, university = 7.2%). Participants reporting suicidal behavior saw suicide as an acceptable but to be a hidden behavior. They also displayed more negative reactions to a suicidal close friend than participants without suicidal behavior. High school students saw suicide as an acceptable option but displayed negative reactions to a suicidal close friend. In a similar fashion, men saw suicide as an acceptable option but displayed negative reactions to a suicidal close friend to a greater extent than women. Low suicide acceptance and a belief in communicating psychological problems to others were found to be associated with positive reactions to a suicidal close friend. In conclusion, suicidal thoughts and attempts are frequent among young people in Turkey. Participants with a suicidal behavior, high school students and men see suicide as an acceptable behavior but exhibit negative reactions to a suicidal close friend.