Abstract:

This paper explores university students' awareness and personal connections to suicide, investigates their knowledge and understanding of suicidal behavior, assesses their willingness and confidence in intervening and helping peers in crisis, and identifies gaps in knowledge or skills related to suicide prevention to develop targeted interventions and support systems.

University students (n=239) from four universities in Kyrgyzstan participated in a cross-sectional survey study. The survey, based on existing literature and utilizing the Bystander Intervention (BSI) Model, employed multiple-choice and Likert scale questions alongside open-ended inquiries. Data were collected electronically via Google Forms, ensuring voluntary and anonymous participation with informed consent obtained electronically. Descriptive statistics and thematic analysis was used to summarize and interpret the survey responses, respectively.

We argue that our preliminary findings indicate a noteworthy increase in awareness among university students regarding the prevalence of suicide, irrespective of their personal exposure to suicide or suicidal behavior. We also argue that the survey reveals that while students demonstrate some knowledge in recognizing risk factors for suicide and suicidal behavior in others, there exists a clear need for more comprehensive guidance or training in identifying these signs. We argue that our preliminary findings highlight a positive correlation between personal exposure to suicide and students' willingness to help others. We argue that these introductory results underscore the importance of ongoing efforts to promote awareness, enhance knowledge, and foster a supportive student environment conducive to suicide prevention.

This paper draws upon published materials and statistical data from various countries, including Kyrgyzstan to explore suicide intervention strategies. A significant portion of the literature review is informed by Latané and Darley’s five-step BSI Model (1970) and Nickerson et al.’s (2014) seminal study on the BSI Model, originally developed for addressing bullying and sexual harassment.

Currently, this paper is in the process of writing the findings and discussions and we are planning to find a home for our paper in the near future.