title: Attitudes of medical students, general practitioners, teachers, and police officers toward suicide in a Turkish sample.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Ankara University Medical School, Psychiatry Department, Turkey. oncu@medicine.ankara.edu.tr
authors.forename: Bedriye
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Oncü
authors.forename: Ciğdem
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Soyka
authors.forename: Inci Ozgür
authors.initials: IO
authors.lastname: Ihan
authors.forename: Işik
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Sayil
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004502:Education, Medical, Continuing; D005178:Faculty; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010821:Physicians, Family / Q000193:education / Q000523:psychology*; D016495:Police; D011320:Primary Health Care; D013337:Students, Medical / Q000523:psychology*; D013405:Suicide / Q000523:psychology* / Q000639:trends; D014421:Turkey; D055815:Young Adult; D000092864:Suicide Prevention