The other side of the hill: counsellor trainees’ suicide literacy and stigmatising attitudes


Atay B., Serim Yıldız B.

British Journal of Guidance and Counselling, vol.52, no.2, pp.164-175, 2024 (SSCI) identifier identifier

  • Publication Type: Article / Article
  • Volume: 52 Issue: 2
  • Publication Date: 2024
  • Doi Number: 10.1080/03069885.2023.2179597
  • Journal Name: British Journal of Guidance and Counselling
  • Journal Indexes: Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI), Scopus, Academic Search Premier, ASSIA, IBZ Online, Periodicals Index Online, CINAHL, EBSCO Education Source, Educational research abstracts (ERA), ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Psycinfo, DIALNET
  • Page Numbers: pp.164-175
  • Keywords: Suicide literacy, stigmatising attitudes towards suicide, counsellor trainees, counsellor education
  • TED University Affiliated: Yes

Abstract

Despite the crucial role of mental health professionals in suicide prevention, little is known about mental health professionals’ suicide literacy and attitudes towards suicide in Turkey. Therefore, the aims of this research are twofold: First, we investigated counsellor trainees’ suicide knowledge and stigmatising attitudes. Second, we examined the relationship between suicide literacy and attitudes of counsellor trainees. A total of 344 counsellor trainees were recruited for this study through convenience sampling in Turkey. The descriptive statistics demonstrated that most of the counsellor trainees had a lack of knowledge about causes/nature, risk factors, and signs of suicide. Additionally, the participants had stigmatising attitudes towards individuals who died by suicide. Most importantly, the canonical correlation analysis revealed that the counsellor trainees’ stigmatising attitudes towards individuals who died by suicide were negatively associated with their suicide literacy. The insights gained from this study may be of assistance to design suicide-sensitive counsellor education programs.