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Gender Differences Related to Attitudes Toward Suicide and Suicidal Behavior

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Abstract

This descriptive study examined gender differences related to attitudes toward suicide among randomly selected urban residents. Data was collected using a standardized questionnaire through face-to-face interview. Our findings revealed that men hold more pro preventive attitudes to help persons with suicidal thoughts (80.3 %, p = 0.05) and agreed that suicidal attempts are impulsive (78.6 %, p = 0.01). However, they hold permissive attitude to help persons with incurable diseases and expressing death wishes to die (66 %, p = 0.05). A majority of men (78.6 %) than women agreed that “suicidal attempt is essentially a cry for help” (χ 2 = 11.798, p = 0.05). These gender differences need to be taken into consideration when developing appropriate programs to prevent suicide. Further, decriminalizing the law, high-quality research and raising awareness about suicide prevention among the general population is crucial in developing countries like India.

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Acknowledgments

We thank all the participants for their valuable contribution.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Nursing, College of Nursing, National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences, Institute of National Importance, Bangalore, 560 029, India

    Vijayalakshmi Poreddi, Rajalakshmi Ramu, Sugavana Selvi, Sailaxmi Gandhi &  Ramachandra

  2. Department of Psychiatry, Videhi Medical College, Bangalore, India

    Rohini Thimmaiah

  3. Department of Psychiatry, National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (Institute of National Importance), Bangalore, India

    Suresh Bada Math

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  1. Vijayalakshmi Poreddi
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  2. Rohini Thimmaiah
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  3. Rajalakshmi Ramu
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  4. Sugavana Selvi
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  5. Sailaxmi Gandhi
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  6. Ramachandra
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  7. Suresh Bada Math
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Correspondence to Vijayalakshmi Poreddi.

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Poreddi, V., Thimmaiah, R., Ramu, R. et al. Gender Differences Related to Attitudes Toward Suicide and Suicidal Behavior. Community Ment Health J 52, 228–232 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10597-015-9913-1

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