The knowledge and awareness of suicide and attitudes towards its risks in university students of Asir region of Saudi Arabia

BACKGROUND: Suicide is defined as the deliberate ending of one’s own life or a deadly self-injurious act with evidence of the intention to die. Suicide among youths is a significant public mental health issue. Young individuals, particularly adolescents, are naturally susceptible to mental health problems. METHODS: The present study has the cross-sectional study design based on simple random sampling technique. Initially, the questionnaire was self –administered to 4353 respondents. Questionnaire with incomplete responses was discarded, and finally, a sample of 4278 was used for the analysis. The study is based in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and the data was collected between the months of January 2022 and April 2022. The survey instrument used in the present study comprised of two sections. RESULTS: In our study, 79.5% of the respondents agreed to the statement “the ruling of suicide is the biggest factor to the low incidences of suicide in our community.” Further, 66.6% of the respondents agreed that suicide is an idea or an act that a person can repel by religious practices such as prayer. CONCLUSION: A focus on suicidal behavior is a critical public health priority because although suicide is a prominent cause of mortality among teenagers; many more youths are at risk for suicide as a result of having suicidal ideation, creating suicide plans, and making an attempt. Trends in teenage suicide attempts increased overall and among numerous demographic categories.