Attitudes of Medical Students, General Practitioners, Teachers, and Police Officers Toward Suicide in a Turkish Sample

ÖNCÜ ÇETİNKAYA B., Soykan C., İLHAN İ., Sayil I.

CRISIS-THE JOURNAL OF CRISIS INTERVENTION AND SUICIDE PREVENTION, cilt.29, sa.4, ss.173-179, 2008 (SSCI) identifier identifier identifier

  • Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
  • Cilt numarası: 29 Sayı: 4
  • Basım Tarihi: 2008
  • Doi Numarası: 10.1027/0227-5910.29.4.173
  • Dergi Adı: CRISIS-THE JOURNAL OF CRISIS INTERVENTION AND SUICIDE PREVENTION
  • Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI), Scopus
  • Sayfa Sayıları: ss.173-179
  • Anahtar Kelimeler: attitudes, suicide, teachers, police officers, medical students, general practitioners, STRESSORS, BEHAVIOR
  • Ankara Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet

Özet

Since attitudes predict future behavior and are important in suicide prevention, we aimed to determine the attitudes of professional groups with potential importance in suicide and suicide prevention. A total sample of 205 medical students, general practitioners, secondary school guidance teachers, and police officers from Ankara completed the Attitudes Toward Suicide Scale (ATSS). Principal components analysis revealed a nine factor model for the scale. Participants from different professions held different attitudes toward suicide. Medical students and general practitioners had the most permissive attitudes. General practitioners' attitude scores about preparedness to prevent suicide were lower compared to other groups, which points out the importance of continuing medical education and implementation of suicide prevention programs in primary care.