SUICIDAL THINKING AMONG STUDENTS FROM UKRAINE, GERMANY, FRANCE AND FINLAND AT THE INITIAL STAGE OF THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC

Abstract

Suicidal thinking is the basis for the development of other forms and levels of suicidal behaviour. According to the available research, the nature and level of suicidal ideation largely depend on situational factors. Changes and limitations related to the COVID-19 pandemic can be viewed as a set of situational factors that significantly contribute to increased intensity of suicidal behaviour in general and suicidal thinking in particular. The study involved 87 students from Ukraine, Germany, France and Finland; the average age was 22.5 years. They were all quarantined during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Scale for Suicide Ideation, Beck et al. 1979, the Positive and Negative Suicide Ideation Inventory, Osman et al., 1998, Hopelessness Scale, Beck et al., 1974, NEO PI, Costa, & McCrae, 1992 were used. Among the identified features of suicidal thinking, we should note that the parameters of suicidal thinking are related to some personal factors, as well as suicidal thinking’s signs manifested in different degrees depending on countries of residence, that probably reflects the cultural characteristics of experienced challenges associated with threats to health and life, restrictions, isolation and uncertainty. Thus, German students, in comparison with Ukrainian ones, showed higher hopelessness. The level of negative suicidal thinking, in comparison with Ukrainian students, was higher among Finnish and French students. French and Finnish students had different values for the parameters of positive and negative suicidal thinking. French students showed higher positive thinking; Finnish students, on the contrary, had higher negative suicidal thinking, and the level of these parameters in the group of Finnish students stands out strongly against the background of all groups in the sample. The following personal traits played the greatest role in the development of suicidal thinking manifestations: extraversion, conscientiousness (they decrease the probability of suicidal thinking development) and neuroticism (increases its probability) for Ukrainian students; friendly sociability (decreases its probability) and neuroticism (increases its probability) for Finnish students; extroversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness (decrease its probability) for French students.