Black Dog Institute, Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of New South Wales, Sydney 2032, Australia.
John Walsh Centre, Sydney Medical School, Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of Sydney, St Leonards, Sydney 2006, Australia.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2023 Jan 31;20(3):2610. doi: 10.3390/ijerph20032610.
The risk of suicidal behaviour in Australia varies by age, sex, sexual preference and Indigenous status. Suicide stigma is known to affect suicide rates and help-seeking for suicidal crises. The aim of this study was to investigate the sociodemographic correlates of suicide stigma to assist in prevention efforts. We surveyed community members and individuals who had attended specific emergency departments for suicidal crisis. The respondents were part of a large-scale suicide prevention trial in New South Wales, Australia. The data collected included demographic characteristics, measures of help-seeking and suicide stigma. The linear regression analyses conducted sought to identify the factors associated with suicide stigma. The 5426 participants were predominantly female (71.4%) with a mean (SD) age of 41.7 (14.8) years, and 3.9% were Indigenous. Around one-third of participants reported a previous suicide attempt (n = 1690, 31.5%) with two-thirds (n = 3545, 65.3%) seeking help for suicidal crisis in the past year. Higher stigma scores were associated with Indigenous status (β 0.123, 95%CI 0.074-0.172), male sex (β 0.527, 95%CI 0.375-0.626) and regional residence (β 0.079, 95%CI 0.015-0.143). Lower stigma scores were associated with younger age (β -0.002, 95%CI -0.004--0.001), mental illness (β -0.095, 95%CI -0.139 to -0.050), male bisexuality (β -0.202, 95%CI -0.351 to -0.052) and males who glorified suicide (β -0.075, 95%CI -0.119 to -0.031). These results suggested that suicide stigma differed across the community, varying significantly by sex, sexual orientation and Indigenous status. Targeted educational programs to address suicide stigma could assist in suicide prevention efforts.
澳大利亚的自杀行为风险因年龄、性别、性取向和原住民身份而有所不同。众所周知，自杀耻辱感会影响自杀率和自杀危机的求助行为。本研究旨在调查自杀耻辱感的社会人口学相关因素，以协助预防工作。我们调查了社区成员和因自杀危机而专门前往特定急诊部门的个人。这些受访者是澳大利亚新南威尔士州一项大型自杀预防试验的一部分。收集的数据包括人口统计学特征、求助措施和自杀耻辱感。进行的线性回归分析旨在确定与自杀耻辱感相关的因素。5426 名参与者主要为女性（71.4%），平均（SD）年龄为 41.7（14.8）岁，3.9%为原住民。约三分之一的参与者报告有过自杀未遂（n = 1690，31.5%），其中 65.3%（n = 3545）在过去一年中因自杀危机寻求过帮助。较高的耻辱感得分与原住民身份（β 0.123，95%CI 0.074-0.172）、男性性别（β 0.527，95%CI 0.375-0.626）和地区居住（β 0.079，95%CI 0.015-0.143）有关。较低的耻辱感得分与年龄较小（β -0.002，95%CI -0.004--0.001）、精神疾病（β -0.095，95%CI -0.139 至 -0.050）、男性双性恋（β -0.202，95%CI -0.351 至 -0.052）和美化自杀的男性（β -0.075，95%CI -0.119 至 -0.031）有关。这些结果表明，自杀耻辱感在社区中存在差异，性别、性取向和原住民身份的差异非常显著。针对自杀耻辱感的有针对性的教育计划可以协助自杀预防工作。
