Relationship between traditional Chinese cultural beliefs and suicide risk among Chinese medical postgraduate students

doi:10.12122/j.issn.1673-4254.2024.12.14

Abstract

Abstract:

Objective To study the relationship between traditional Chinese cultural beliefs and suicide risk in Chinese medical postgraduate students. Methods The Chinese Traditional Cultural Belief Scale (CTCBS) and Suicidal Behavior Questionnaire (SBQ-R) were used to investigate 541 medical postgraduate students in a medical university. Results The total score of traditional Chinese cultural belief of the medical postgraduate students was 49.68±6.85, and 66.9% of them had a clear cultural belief. The detection rate of suicide risk among the medical postgraduates was 15.7%, and 20.1% of them reported suicidal ideation within the past year. Traditional Chinese cultural belief was negatively correlated with suicide risk among the medical postgraduates (r=-0.210, P<0.001), and those with higher levels of cultural belief had lower SBQ-R scores (F=6.255, P<0.01). The medical postgraduates with lower cultural beliefs had a higher detection rate of suicide risk (28.6% vs 21.2% vs 12.7%). The students with high suicide risks had significantly lower total scores and all the dimension scores of CTCBS (P<0.001). Conclusion Most medical postgraduates have clear traditional Chinese cultural beliefs, which can be beneficial to reduce suicide risk among the students.

Key words: medical postgraduate students, traditional Chinese culture, cultural belief, suicide risk, suicidal ideation

Kailu CHEN, Rong XIAO. Relationship between traditional Chinese cultural beliefs and suicide risk among Chinese medical postgraduate students[J]. Journal of Southern Medical University, 2024, 44(12): 2382-2387.

Figures/Tables 5

References 42

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Characteristics	n (%)	Cultural belief	Suicide risk
Characteristics	n (%)	Cultural belief	SBQ-R score	High risk [n (%)]
Gender
Male (n=214)	214 (39.6)	49.64±7.13	4.57±2.06	32 (15.0)
Female (n=327)	327 (60.4)	49.70±6.68	4.80±2.21	53 (16.2)
t/χ²		-0.092	-1.189	0.154
Place of residence
Countryside (n=213)	213 (39.4)	50.17±6.08	4.65±1.94	31 (14.6)
County (n=149)	149 (27.5)	49.38±7.27	4.52±1.95	23 (15.4)
City (n=179)	179 (33.1)	49.34±7.34	4.93±2.51	31 (17.3)
F/χ²		0.902	1.652	0.573
Family finances
Poor (n=77)	77 (14.2)	49.35±7.66	4.66±2.00	11 (14.3)
Medium (n=410)	410 (75.8)	49.65±6.77	4.77±2.22	69 (16.8)
Rich (n=54)	54 (10.0)	50.35±6.34	4.28±1.74	5 (9.3)
F/χ²		0.351	1.271	2.203
Total	541	49.68±6.85	4.71±2.15	85 (15.9)

Characteristics	n (%)	Cultural belief	Suicide risk
Characteristics	n (%)	Cultural belief	SBQ-R score	High risk [n (%)]
Gender
Male (n=214)	214 (39.6)	49.64±7.13	4.57±2.06	32 (15.0)
Female (n=327)	327 (60.4)	49.70±6.68	4.80±2.21	53 (16.2)
t/χ²		-0.092	-1.189	0.154
Place of residence
Countryside (n=213)	213 (39.4)	50.17±6.08	4.65±1.94	31 (14.6)
County (n=149)	149 (27.5)	49.38±7.27	4.52±1.95	23 (15.4)
City (n=179)	179 (33.1)	49.34±7.34	4.93±2.51	31 (17.3)
F/χ²		0.902	1.652	0.573
Family finances
Poor (n=77)	77 (14.2)	49.35±7.66	4.66±2.00	11 (14.3)
Medium (n=410)	410 (75.8)	49.65±6.77	4.77±2.22	69 (16.8)
Rich (n=54)	54 (10.0)	50.35±6.34	4.28±1.74	5 (9.3)
F/χ²		0.351	1.271	2.203
Total	541	49.68±6.85	4.71±2.15	85 (15.9)

Item	Total (n=541)	High risk (n=85)
1.Have you ever thought about or attempted to kill yourself?
Never	301 (55.6)	3 (3.5)
It was just a brief passing thought	204 (37.7)	51 (60.0)
I have had a plan at least once …/I have attempted to kill myself…	36 (6.6)	31 (36.5)
2.How often have you thought about killing yourself in the past year?
Never	432 (79.9)	15 (17.6)
Rarely (1 time)/Sometimes (2 times)	100 (18.5)	61 (71.8)
Often (3-4 times)/Very often (5 or more times)	9 (1.7)	9 (10.6)
3.Have you ever told someone that you were going to commit suicide, or that you might do it?
No	445 (82.3)	29 (34.1)
Yes, at one time …	78 (14.4)	43 (50.6)
Yes, more than once …	18 (3.3)	13 (15.3)
4. How likely is it that you will attempt suicide someday?
Never	307 (56.7)	4 (4.7)
No chance at all/Rather unlikely/Unlikely	222 (41.0)	69 (81.2)
Likely/Rather likely/Very likely	12 (2.2)	12 (14.1)

Item	Total (n=541)	High risk (n=85)
1.Have you ever thought about or attempted to kill yourself?
Never	301 (55.6)	3 (3.5)
It was just a brief passing thought	204 (37.7)	51 (60.0)
I have had a plan at least once …/I have attempted to kill myself…	36 (6.6)	31 (36.5)
2.How often have you thought about killing yourself in the past year?
Never	432 (79.9)	15 (17.6)
Rarely (1 time)/Sometimes (2 times)	100 (18.5)	61 (71.8)
Often (3-4 times)/Very often (5 or more times)	9 (1.7)	9 (10.6)
3.Have you ever told someone that you were going to commit suicide, or that you might do it?
No	445 (82.3)	29 (34.1)
Yes, at one time …	78 (14.4)	43 (50.6)
Yes, more than once …	18 (3.3)	13 (15.3)
4. How likely is it that you will attempt suicide someday?
Never	307 (56.7)	4 (4.7)
No chance at all/Rather unlikely/Unlikely	222 (41.0)	69 (81.2)
Likely/Rather likely/Very likely	12 (2.2)	12 (14.1)

Item	Cultural belief levels			F/χ²	P	Multiple comparison
Item	Low (n=14)	Medium (n=165)	High (n=362)	F/χ²	P	Multiple comparison
SBQ-R score	5.57±3.20	5.12±2.36	4.48±1.97	6.255	0.002	2>3
Past attempts	2.14±1.17	1.56±0.63	1.48±0.64	7.186	<0.001	1>2;1>3
Frequency	1.43±1.16	1.43±0.84	1.24±0.58	4.679	0.010	2>3
Threat	1.14±0.54	1.27±0.52	1.19±0.46	2.015	0.134
Likelihood	0.86±1.23	0.85±1.04	0.58±0.89	5.117	0.006	2>3
High risk [n (%)]	4 (28.6)	35 (21.2)	46 (12.7)	7.985	0.018