Citation

Herron J, Ticehurst H, Appleby L, Perry A, Cordingley L. Suicide Life Threat. Behav. 2001; 31(3): 342-347.

Affiliation

School of Psychiatry and Behavioural Sciences, University of Manchester, England.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2001, American Association of Suicidology, Publisher John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

11577918

Abstract

A questionnaire assessing attitudes toward suicide prevention was constructed and shown to have satisfactory reliability and internal consistency. The determinants and distribution of these attitudes were investigated in four groups of health professionals who are in contact with suicidal patients: general practitioners, accident and emergency nurses, psychiatrists in training, and community psychiatric nurses. Attitudes toward suicide prevention were shown to differ significantly between professional groups. More positive attitudes were associated with mental health professionals, working in the community, and previous training in suicide risk assessment. Negative attitudes should be assessed and targeted in training designed to improve the management of suicide risk.