title: Health Professionals' Explanations of Suicidal Behaviour: Effects of Professional Group, Theoretical Intervention Model, and Patient Suicide Experience.
abstract: In a help relation with a suicidal person, the theoretical models of suicidality can be essential to guide the health professional's comprehension of the client/patient. The objectives of this study were to identify health professionals' explanations of suicidal behaviors and to study the effects of professional group, theoretical intervention models, and patient suicide experience in professionals' representations. Two hundred and forty-two health professionals filled out a self-report questionnaire. Exploratory principal components analysis was used. Five explanatory models were identified: psychological suffering, affective cognitive, sociocommunicational, adverse life events, and psychopathological. Results indicated that the psychological suffering and psychopathological models were the most valued by the professionals, while the sociocommunicational was seen as the least likely to explain suicidal behavior. Differences between professional groups were found. We concluded that training and reflection on theoretical models in general and in communicative issues in particular are needed in the education of health professionals.
authors.affiliation: 1 Faculdade de Psicologia e de Ciências da Educação da Universidade do Porto-FPCEUP Sala CPDEC, Rua Alfredo Allen, Portugal.
authors.forename: Inês Areal
authors.initials: IA
authors.lastname: Rothes
authors.affiliation: 1 Faculdade de Psicologia e de Ciências da Educação da Universidade do Porto-FPCEUP Sala CPDEC, Rua Alfredo Allen, Portugal.
authors.forename: Margarida Rangel
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Henriques
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008960:Models, Psychological; D011174:Portugal; D013405:Suicide / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: explanatory models; health professionals; suicidal behaviour