Analysis of adolescents' opinions on suicide prevention

Aim. The aim of the study is to investigate the views of adolescents aged 16-19, attending public high schools in Warsaw, on effectiveness of suicide prevention. Material and method. The studied population covered adolescents aged 16-19 back in 2015 (M = 17.29; SD = 0.94). The respondents attended eight public high schools in Warsaw in eight different districts. The study group was representative. 1,439 respondents participated in the study - 821 girls (57.1%) and 592 boys (41.1%). PAPI method was used in the conducted study. The questionnaire consisted of 34 questions. Results. In most cases respondents did not know whether there was an organized system of suicide prevention in Poland (42.0%), however, a large proportion of the respondents (39.7%) was aware of nonexistence of such a system in Poland. The respondents considered the activity of a school (46.7%), the Church (38.3%) and the police (55.9%) in the field of suicide prevention ineffective, the activity of health care institutions (47.7%) and the media (46.6%) hardly effective, while the family was considered effective (70.9%). Persons who perceive significant role of the Church in suicide prevention at the same time indicate considerable share of the family and a much lesser role of the remaining institutions. Conclusions. 1) More than 1/3 of studied adolescents realize that there is no integrated system of suicide prevention; 2) The family, according to high school students, plays the greatest role in preventing self-destructive behaviors; 3) There is a need of greater involvement of schools. the Church, the police, health care institutions and the media in education and raising adolescents' awareness in the field of self-destructive behaviors.