Citation

Sueki H. Psychol. Health Med. 2018; 23(5): 532-540.

Affiliation

Faculty of Human Sciences, Department of Psychology and Education , Wako University , Machida , Japan.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2018, Informa - Taylor and Francis Group)

DOI

10.1080/13548506.2017.1371777

PMID

28849672

Abstract

Many individuals show negative attitudes toward the use of taxes for suicide prevention. Activities that enhance knowledge and awareness of suicide and suicide prevention may increase willingness to pay (WTP) for suicide prevention. WTP is the amount that a consumer will pay for a product or service. The present study examined the influence of educational activities on enhancing knowledge and awareness of suicide and its prevention on WTP. We conducted a quasi-experimental study to examine the influence of lectures on suicide by comparing the amount of change in WTP between two groups over the same period: an intervention group (n = 92) comprising students who participated in the lectures and a control group (n = 128) comprising general university students recruited through an Internet-based survey. A t-test showed that the amount of change was significantly larger in the intervention group (t (152.31) = 2.25, p = .026). Ordinal logistic regression analysis showed that increased WTP was significantly correlated with an annual household income of JPY 4-6 million or higher. It may be appropriate to conclude that participation in lectures about suicide is effective in increasing WTP for suicide prevention.

Language: en

Keywords

Suicide prevention; attitudes toward suicide; health literacy; value of statistical life; willingness to pay