Belief in suicide prevention myths and its effect on helping: a nationally representative survey of Australian adults

Nicholas, Angela; Niederkrotenthaler, Thomas; Reavley, Nicola; Pirkis, Jane; Jorm, Anthony; Spittal, Matthew J.

doi:10.1186/s12888-020-02715-9

Table 5 Linear regression analyses of the associations between belief in suicide myths and helping intentions, and between belief in suicide myths and helping behaviors, adjusted for sociodemographic characteristics

From: Belief in suicide prevention myths and its effect on helping: a nationally representative survey of Australian adults

	Talk and listen		Professional help		Risk assessment		Non-recommended actions
Myth	Coefficient	95%CI	Coefficient	95%CI	Coefficient	95%CI	Coefficient	95%CI
Helping intentions
Asking about suicide might start them thinking about it	−0.18*	− 0.35, − 0.01	− 0.06	− 0.34, 0.21	−1.30**	−1.64, − 0.94	0.19	− 0.10, 0.49
Risk making the situation worse if I try to help	− 0.17*	− 0.33, − 0.02	− 0.17	− 0.44, 0.11	−0.00	− 0.35, 0.35	−0.65**	− 0.96, − 0.34
Suicide happens without warning	−0.06	− 0.20, 0.09	0.04	− 0.23, 0.30	0.06	− 0.28, 0.41	0.52**	0.21, 0.82
Suicide occurs without any sign	0.02	−0.14, 0.18	0.05	−0.26, 0.35	0.47*	0.07, 0.86	0.54**	0.22, 0.87
If wants to kill themselves, we should not interfere	−1.13**	−1.83, − 0.44	−0.83	−1.74, 0.08	− 0.86	− 1.89, 0.17	−1.51**	−2.40, − 0.61
Once a person has made up mind, no one can stop him/her	0.06	− 0.17, 0.29	− 0.12	− 0.50, 0.26	0.09	− 0.39, 0.58	0.26	− 0.18, 0.70
People who make suicidal threats rarely kill themselves	− 0.13	− 0.31, 0.05	− 0.28	−0.57, 0.02	− 0.13	−0.51, 0.25	0.32	0.01, 0.63
Helping behaviors
	Coefficient	95%CI	Coefficient	95%CI	Coefficient	95%CI	Coefficient	95%CI
Asking about suicide might start them thinking about it	−0.05	−0.13, 0.04	0.04	−0.16, 0.24	−0.47*	− 0.77, − 0.17	−0.05	− 0.29, 0.20
Risk of making the situation worse if I try to help	0.01	−0.07, 0.08	0.07	−0.13, 0.27	−0.17	− 0.47, 0.13	−0.04	− 0.30, 0.22
Suicide happens without warning	0.05	−0.01, 0.12	0.17	−0.04, 0.38	0.11	−0.17, 0.39	0.48**	0.24, 0.73
Suicide occurs without any sign	0.04	−0.03, 0.11	0.06	−0.15, 0.27	0.12	−0.18, 0.42	0.08	−0.18, 0.34
If wants to kill themselves, we should not interfere	−0.37*	−0.72, − 0.01	−0.27	− 0.73, 0.20	−0.13	− 0.70, 0.44	−0.07	− 0.82, 0.69
Once a person has made up mind, no one can stop him/her	−0.16	− 0.12, 0.09	−0.11	− 0.41, 0.18	−0.23	− 0.65, 0.20	−0.01	− 0.41, 0.38
People who make suicidal threats rarely kill themselves	−0.12*	− 0.22, − 0.01	−0.00	− 0.22, 0.21	−0.06	− 0.35, 0.24	−0.10	− 0.38, 0.19

Significant associations are indicated in bold type. *p < 0.05, **p < .001. All analyses adjusted for gender, age, education level, speaking a language other than English at home (LOTE), location, own suicidal ideation in last 12 months, professional experience in suicide prevention, suicide prevention training, and the vignette to which they were exposed. Intentions analyses were also adjusted for having a family member or friend in distress in the last 12 months

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ISSN: 1471-244X

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