Perception and experiences of suicide among university students in Egypt

Background The worldwide prevalence of suicide ideation, planning, attempt, and death is a major public health issue. The highest rates of suicide are seen in those aged 15 to 29, largely correlating to their time spent in higher education. Objectives Identify the perception and experiences of medical students towards suicidal thoughts and attempts and explore some predictors. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted at Kafrelshiekh University in Egypt, included 554 university students using predesigned questionnaire that included sociodemographic characteristics, perception of students about suicide, and their experience with knowing a person who had suicide thoughts or attempts and if they themselves had suicidal thoughts or attempts. Results Self-experience with suicidal thoughts was reported by 25.3% while 12.3% reported attempting suicide, and among those who attempted suicide the most frequent reason was feeling depressed (61.8) followed by educational pressures (54.4%) and feeling lonely (41.2%). Accepting the concept of suicide was the main predictor for having suicidal thoughts (OR = 7.784) followed by knowing a person who had suicidal attempt (OR = 2.234) or thoughts (OR = 4.609). Conclusion Our results indicate the suicide ideation and behavior are prevalent among college undergraduates. Universities have the responsibility to educate students with effective life education as well as suicide prevention and intervention programs.