Exploring Sociodemographic Correlates of Suicide Stigma in Australia: Baseline Cross-Sectional Survey Findings from the Life-Span Suicide Prevention Trial Studies

Lisa N. Sharwood (), Alison L. Calear, Philip J. Batterham, Michelle Torok, Lauren McGillivray, Demee Rheinberger, Stephanie Zeritis, Tuguy Esgin and Fiona Shand
Additional contact information
Lisa N. Sharwood: Black Dog Institute, Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of New South Wales, Sydney 2032, Australia
Alison L. Calear: Black Dog Institute, Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of New South Wales, Sydney 2032, Australia
Philip J. Batterham: Black Dog Institute, Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of New South Wales, Sydney 2032, Australia
Michelle Torok: Black Dog Institute, Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of New South Wales, Sydney 2032, Australia
Lauren McGillivray: Black Dog Institute, Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of New South Wales, Sydney 2032, Australia
Demee Rheinberger: Black Dog Institute, Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of New South Wales, Sydney 2032, Australia
Stephanie Zeritis: Black Dog Institute, Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of New South Wales, Sydney 2032, Australia
Tuguy Esgin: Discipline of Exercise, Health and Performance, University of Sydney, Sydney 2006, Australia
Fiona Shand: Black Dog Institute, Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of New South Wales, Sydney 2032, Australia

IJERPH, 2023, vol. 20, issue 3, 1-12

Abstract: 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.

Keywords: suicide; stigma; Indigenous; help-seeking; prevention; gender (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/20/3/2610/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/20/3/2610/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:20:y:2023:i:3:p:2610-:d:1053325

Access Statistics for this article

IJERPH is currently edited by Ms. Jenna Liu

More articles in IJERPH from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().