Individual and perceived social attitudes towards suicide in relation to suicide risk

Context and relevance. The relationship between social attitudes towards suicide and the actual suicidal behavior of individuals remains a matter of unresolved scientific dispute. Objective. The present study aimed to examine both individual and perceived social attitudes towards suicide in their connection to low or high suicide risk. Hypothesis. 1) persons with different levels of suicide risk vary in their individual and perceived social attitudes towards suicide; 2) higher levels of suicide risk are interrelated with a more positive individual attitude and a more negative perceived social attitude towards suicide. Methods and materials. 520 respondents participated in an online survey, which included sociodemographic information; Beck Depression Inventory; “Auto- and Hetero-Aggression” questionnaire; measuring individual and perceived social representations of suicide; and questions related to social engagement, mental health and suicidal behavior. Results. A fuzzy clustering procedure yielded 4 clusters of respondents. These clusters varied significantly across most of the examined suicidality-related parameters, reflecting different levels of suicide risk. Higher levels of education, high numbers of individuals considered close and a subjective assessment of one’s social circle as wide may be considered to be protective factors for suicidal behavior. Self-harm behavior, auto-aggression, and a family history of suicide may all serve as predictors of suicidal behavior. Hetero-aggression, marriage and having children among youth were not shown to be interrelated with suicidality. Greater susceptibility to suicide stigma and having an inner conflict with society, defined by a “gap” between positive individual and extremely negative perceived social attitudes towards suicide, may be considered to be strong indicators of acute suicide crisis. Conclusions. Relative to the general population, negative attitudes towards suicide might serve as a protective factor, but they have a very strong detrimental effect on those in most need of compassion — people with the highest levels of suicide risk. This results in their reluctance to self-disclose and seek help.

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