title: Knowledge about suicide and local suicide prevalence: comparison of Estonia and Austria.
abstract: Knowledge about suicide might be positively correlated with local suicide prevalence. This hypothesis was tested with a sample of 107 medical and social science undergraduates from Estonia, a country with a high suicide rate, using Hubbard and McIntosh's 1992 Revised Facts on Suicide Quiz. Compared (independent-groups t tests) with a sample of undergraduates from Austria, which has a markedly lower suicide rate, Estonians presented significantly higher overall knowledge about suicide (d = 0.39), particularly concerning demographic and epidemiological facts about suicide (d = 0.77) but not pertaining to clinical and interpersonal knowledge contents (d = -0.06). Study limitations and suggestions for extension of this preliminary inquiry are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Estonian-Swedish Mental Health & Suicidology Institute, Estonian Centre of Behavioral and Health Sciences, Tallinn.
authors.forename: Kairi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kõlves
authors.forename: Ulrich S
authors.initials: US
authors.lastname: Tran
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Voracek
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001317:Austria / Q000453:epidemiology; D003431:Cross-Cultural Comparison; D004522:Educational Status; D004957:Estonia / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010555:Personality Inventory; D015995:Prevalence; D012961:Sociology / Q000193:education; D013334:Students / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D013337:Students, Medical / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D013405:Suicide / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires