Possibility of suicide and associated factors in university students

Objective: Deaths by suicide have been observed to become more common in adolescent and early adult groups in recent years. It is critically important to first identify risk factors in order to predict the possibility of suicide and prevent losses due to suicide. This study aims to investigate the possibility of suicide and associated risk factors in students studying at Şanlıurfa Harran University. Method: This research is prospective, descriptive and cross-sectional.Research; Following the approval of the ethics committee dated 05.06.2023 and numbered 2023/10/28 and the research permit numbered E-76244175-050.04.04-235923 from Harran University Clinical Research Ethics Committee, between June 2023 and October 2023, Şanlıurfa Harran University Osmanbey Campus. It was conducted with 643 students from the Faculty of Medicine, Theology, Education and Engineering who met the inclusion criteria. Study data were obtained and evaluated by online survey method, Kolmogorov-Smirnov test, Independent t test, Mann Whitney-U test, Kruskal Wallis test, Dunn-Bonferroni post-hoc test, Jonckheere-Terspstra ordered alternatives test, Pearson Chi-square test and Spearman correlation analysis. SPSS version 23 program was used for statistical analysis. A significance level of p<0.05 was accepted in interpreting the results. Results: 643 students, 406 women and 237 men, participated in the study. 158 (24.6%) of the participants are education students, 179 (27.8%) are theology students, 145 (22.6%) are engineering students and 161 (25.0%) are medical students. In our study, the suicide probability scale mean score was found to be 74.0124±17.52. Suicide probability scale scores of individuals under the age of 25 were higher and more significant than those of individuals over the age of 25 (p=0.044). Participants' relationship with their parents (p=0.040), viewing course success as a source of stress (p=0.001), desire to continue their studies (p=0.001), experiencing violence from the family (p=0.000), family relationships (p=0.001). 0.001), presence of chronic disease (p=0.005), presence of psychiatric disease (p=0.001), smoking (p=0.004), alcohol use (p=0.002), frequency of participating in social environments (p=0.002), frequency of reading books (p=0.011), and a relationship between self-harm behavior (p=0.002) and the suicide probability scale was found. Although the participants' perceptions of their online game playing frequency and income level and their Suicide Probabilty Scale total scores were proportionally high, no statistically significant relationship was found between the Suicide Probabilty Scale subscales and Suicide Probabilty Scale total scores. No statistically significant relationship was found between the faculty attended, the number of siblings, living with the family, sex, frequency of physical activity and the suicide probability scale. When we look at the relationship between sociodemographic data in our study; The frequency of alcohol use and physical violence in the family of participants who smoke (p=0.001, p=0.001, respectively), and the frequency of cigarette-alcohol use and psychiatric diseases of students who engage in self-harming behavior (p=0.001, p=0.001, p=0.001, respectively) was found to be significantly higher. The highest smoking rate is seen in engineering faculty students (26%), and in medical faculty 6th year students (27.8%). Similar to the literature, poor family relationships and physical violence from parents were significantly more common with the distribution of self-harm (p=0.001, p=0.001, respectively). Our findings also include that the participants with psychiatric illnesses use alcohol more frequently, have worse family relationships, and are more frequently exposed to physical violence from their families. At the same time, approximately one-third of the students with mental illness are medical school students, and a statistically significant relationship was found between the presence of mental illness and studying at medical school (p = 0.001). Conclusion: This study revealed that our participants' suicide probability scores were in the medium-high risk range. According to our findings; Self-harming behavior, smoking and alcohol use, not participating in social environments, poor family relationships, exposure to domestic violence, and the presence of chronic and mental illness are risk factors that may increase the likelihood of suicide. In order to prevent negative processes that may lead to suicide, it is recommended to identify young people in need of psychological support and provide remedial interventions through structured screenings in which the Psychological Counseling, Guidance Application and Research Centers at universities actively participate. Keywords: Suicide, risk, probability, university, mental health, young adulthood