Attitudes towards suicide and suicidal patients among medical students

Abstract

Medical students' attitudes towards suicide and suicidal patients were studied. The aim was also to determine whether attitudes differ between students in the beginning and end of studies. A questionnaire including own attitudes on death and suicide and psychosocial circumstances was filled in by 63% of first and final year students (306 of 485). The calculation included a factor analysis on items describing the attitudes to suicidal patients. Attitudes towards patients became influenced by the knowledge of mental disorders and by biological aspects of behaviour during the education. Final year students more often consider suicide to be an expression of psychiatric disease and thought that people trying to commit suicide were not responsible for their own actions. Thirty-four percent and 44% (ns) in the first and last years, respectively, reported suicidal ideas some time in their lives. Students with such a history of suicide thoughts were less optimistic about the possibility to help. Ongoing depressive/anxious symptoms were prevalent in 36/305 (12%) of students, but did not seem to affect their attitudes to patients. Female students had sought psychological/psychiatric help more often than males (26% and 10%, P < 0.01).