Factors associated with help-seeking behavior among medically serious attempters aged 15–54 years in rural China

Abstract

Increasing help-seeking behavior was one of the effective methods for suicide prevention. However, help-seeking behavior was less explored in rural China. In this study, we aimed to analyze the factors which were associated with help-seeking behavior among medically serious suicide attempters in rural China. Subjects were 791 medically serious suicide attempters aged 15–54 years in rural China. A face-to-face interview was conducted to evaluate the age, gender, education years, marital status, occupation, religious belief, living alone, physical disease, pesticide at home, family suicide history, negative life events, social support, impulsivity, mental disorder, prior suicide act, suicide intent and suicide method for the attempters. The results supported that there were 29.2% of attempters seek help before suicide behavior, and factors that male (OR = 1.45), experiencing negative life events (OR = 1.12), impulsivity (OR = 1.05), suicide intent (OR = 0.92) and suicide by pesticide (OR = 0.68) were associated with increased help-seeking behavior. It is helpful for us to understanding the features of suicide attempters who do not seek help before suicide behavior, and we also should pay more attention on people with these factors in Chinese suicide prevention.