[Knowledge about and attitudes toward suicide in the Hungarian general population and in the helping professions].

In the framework of an international suicide prevention program, we examined suicide-related attitudes and knowledge using the questionnaire constructed by Hubbard-McIntosh in the Hungarian population (N=4238) and among 231 helping professional. Our results show that proper information and false assumptions as well as attitudes toward suicide (refusal or acceptance of the right to commit suicide in general and exceptional situations in life) are closely related to several characteristics of the individual's socio-demographic position, to geographical location, to depression, and to the personal involvement in suicide-related events. In line with our expectations, the level of knowledge of helping professionals is higher than that of the general population. Compared to the general population, a significantly higher proportion of helping professionals deny the right to commit suicide; however, in relation to a particular situation of life - e.g. terminal illness - their opinion is similar to that of the general population.