Abstract
This article aimed to investigate the predictive variables of young people’s willingness to help people at risk of suicide. Participated in study 490 Brazilian young people (359 females, Mage = 23.61 years old; SD = 3.30, range 18–29). They answered a sociodemographic and psychosocial questionnaire, the Suicide Helpfulness Scale (SHS), the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI), and Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Scale (MC–SDS). Spearman correlation, Mann–Whitney, and Kruskal Wallis coefficients were used for data analysis. The results showed positive and significant associations between empathy, willingness to help, and social desirability. There were also significant differences in willingness to help according to participant’s scores on level of empathy, sex, age group, exposure to suicide, and the degree of proximity to someone who committed suicide. Finally, a multiple linear regression analysis showed that empathy and degree of proximity were the only significant predictors of willingness to help people at risk for suicide. These findings point to the importance of promoting empathy in suicide prevention programs aimed at the young population.
Resumo
Este artigo teve como objetivo principal investigar as variáveis preditoras da disposição de jovens para ajudar pessoas em risco de suicídio. Participaram do estudo 490 jovens brasileiros (359 mulheres, Midade = 23,61; DP = 3,30, faixa etária 18 a 29 anos). Os participantes responderam um questionário sociodemográfico e psicossocial, a Escala de Apoio à pessoa em Risco de Suicídio (EARS), a Escala Multidimensional de Reatividade Interpessoal (EMRI) e a Escala de Desejabilidade Social de Marlowe-Crowne (EDSMC). Na análise de dados, foram utilizados os coeficientes de Spearman, Mann-Whitney e Kruskal Wallis. Os resultados evidenciaram associações positivas e significativas entre a empatia, a disposição para ajudar e a desejabilidade social; observaram-se também diferenças significativas na disposição para ajudar em função do nível de empatia, do sexo, da faixa etária, da exposição ao suicídio e do grau de proximidade com alguém que se suicidou. Por fim, uma análise de Regressão Linear Múltipla demonstrou que a empatia e o grau de proximidade foram os únicos preditores significativos da disposição para ajudar pessoas em risco de suicídio. Esses achados apontam para a importância de incluir a promoção da empatia em programas de prevenção do suicídio voltados para a população jovem.
Resumen
Este artículo tuvo como principal objetivo investigar las variables predictoras de la disposición de los jóvenes para ayudar las personas en riesgo de suicidio. Participarón del estúdio 490 jóvenes brasileños (359 mujeres, Medad = 23,61; DP = 3,30, grupo de edad de 18 a 29 años). Los participantes respondieron un cuestionario sociodemográfico y psicosocial, la Escala de Apoyo para personas en Riesgo de Suicidio (EARS), la Escala Multidimensional de Reactividad Interpersonal (EMRI) y la Escala de Deseabilidad Social de Marlowe-Crowne (EDSMC). En el análisis de datos se utilizaron los coeficientes de Spearman, Mann-Whitney y Kruskal Wallis. Los resultados mostraron asociaciones positivas y significativas entre la empatía, la disposición a ayudar y la deseabilidad social; también hubo diferencias significativas en la disposición a ayudar según el nivel de empatía, del género, de la edad, la exposición al suicidio y del grado de proximidad con alguien que se suicidó. Finalmente, un análisis de regresión lineal múltiple mostró que la empatía y el grado de cercanía eran los únicos predictores significativos de la disposición a ayudar las personas en riesgo de suicidio. Estos hallazgos apuntan para la importancia de incluir la promoción de la empatía en los programas de prevención del suicidio dirigidos a la población joven.
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Data Availability
The datasets generated during and analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.
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This study is funded by the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq, in Portuguese).
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Bezerra, V.A., Camino, C.P., Galvão, L.K. et al. Predictive Variables of Young People’s Willingness to Help People at Risk of Suicide. Trends in Psychol. 30, 186–205 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s43076-021-00108-9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s43076-021-00108-9