Evaluation of knowledge level about suicide and stigmatizing attitudes in university students toward people who commit suicide

97 Ayfer Öztürk, Stigma attitudes / dx.doi. org/10.14744/phd.2018. 49389 their treatment. [5] Social acceptance of stigmatizing attitudes leads to traumas for potentially suicidal persons. In this frame of mind, the individual begins to feel that society devalues him/her based on some negative preconceptions without any concrete proof; therefore, s/he experiences isolation. [6] The attitude of stigmatization refers to a shameful situation for individuals and results in social isolation, limited life opportunities, and restraints on seeking help. Moreover, negative social attitudes such as stigmatization and discrimination are significant obstacles to social integration. [7] Stigma surrounding suicide has such a huge impact that it may discourage people from expressing their ideas about suicide. Therefore, stigmatization could be considered as one of the primary obstacles against seeking help, preventing an individual from talking about personal problems openly and freely, and discussing what can be done about these problems. [6] Some persons think that if they expressed their suicidal thoughts, they could be stigmatized as weak and faithless individuals coming from bad families or even as “crazy” people. This situation obstructs the early diagnosis of suicide and help for individuals in despair. [4] Whereas there are many reasons for stigmatizing suicide, one of the most significant is not having a correct understanding of what might lead to suicide. Due to such misinterpretations, many people try to remain distant to individuals and subjects related with suicide. [8] Stigmatizing attitudes toward suicide influence those who commit suicide, relatives of the person who has committed suicide, and even those who have the ideation or desire of committing suicide. [9] A suicide attempt should be considered a clear sign of an individual who is seeking help. Unfortunately, those who survive suicide attempts are frequently and severely stigmatized, for example, as “s/he just wants to attract attention”. [10] Family members of a person who has died by suicide are more stigmatized, ashamed, and rejected, when compared to other close friends. Suicidal people or people who want to commit suicide may be unwilling to seek treatment due to such misunderstandings about suicide. This unwillingness may endanger the individual’s personal safety and mental health. [8,11] The study by Luoma et al.[12] (2002) reported that 45% of the people who committed suicide got in touch with a health expert in the last month before the suicide; however, only 32% received mental health services in the last one year before their suicide. There is still no precise information about why suicidal people do not seek help. Yet, it can be argued that the society’s insufficient knowledge about suicide may have resulted in low levels of help-seeking behavior. Low levels of awareness about the causes and symptoms of suicide could mean that suicidal individuals were not aware of the importance of receiving professional help. [12,13] Reviewing the international scholarly literature, many scales have been developed to evaluate individuals who have committed or attempt to commit suicide. [13–21] Although stigmatization of suicide is an important subject, only a few relevant studies have been performed in Turkey. This study analyzes the literacy of university students, who are part of the high-risk age group for suicide, with the aim of understanding the basis for their stigmatizing attitudes toward suicide and the people who commit suicide. Materials and Method