title: The attitudes of preclinical and clinical Turkish medical students toward suicide attempters.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Interest in studies of stigma toward patients with mental disorders is growing. Research on the attitudes of medical students toward suicide attempters does not exist; although as medical personnel, they will encounter suicide attempters in emergency rooms.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  We aimed to investigate the attitudes of preclinical and clinical medical students toward suicide attempters and to compare their attitudes with nonmedical students.
  
  
  METHODS
  Participants were asked to fill out questionnaires those were searching the attitudes toward suicide attempters. These questionnaires used a social distance scale, skillfulness assessment scale, and dangerousness scale.
  
  
  RESULTS
  More than 73% of students had a negative attitude toward "renting a room of their home to a suicide attempter." More than 90% would not want "a suicide attempter to supervise their children for few hours." Significantly more preclinical than clinical students would not want their children to marry a suicide attempter.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Social distance, skillfulness, and attitudes concerning the dangerousness of suicide attempters are problematic for medical students and need educational intervention.
authors: Department of Psychiatry, University Hospital, Afyonkarahisar, Turkey. hmuratemul@hotmail.com
authors: Murat
authors: M
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