Attitudes towards suicide among medical students: comparison between Madras (India) and Vienna (Austria)

Attitudes towards suicide among medical students in Madras (India) and Vienna (Austria) were compared using the SUIATT questionnaire by Diekstra and Kerkhof (1989). Results show a very restrictive attitude in Madras, rejecting the right to commit suicide, nearly always judging suicide as a cowardly act, and rejecting the idea of assisted suicide. On the other hand, in Vienna a more permissive attitude was found. It is interpreted that the Indian pattern comes close to a "medical" or "disease model", with stronger emphasis on mental illness, impulsiveness and emotional aspects, whereas the Viennese pattern reflects a "theoretical", "rational model", concentrating on cognitive factors and minimizing the influence of mental illness, emotional difficulties and restrictions related to suicidal behaviour. This pattern may be influenced by the public discussion on assisted suicide and the right to die in Europe in the last decade. Possible relations to the risk for actual suicidal behaviour are discussed using respective answers concerning previous suicidal ideation and suicide attempts. The answers concerning suicidal ideation seem to be strongly influenced by the different attitude patterns: only 16.8% reported previous suicidal ideation in Madras, compared to 51.5% in Vienna, whereas the percentage of reported suicide attempts is equal in both centres (5.9%:4.9%).