ATTITUDES TOWARDS SUICIDE AMONG MEDICAL-STUDENTS - COMPARISON BETWEENMADRAS (INDIA) AND VIENNA (AUSTRIA)

Attitudes towards suicide among medical students in Madras (India) and Vienna (Austria) were compared using the SUIATT questionnaire by Diek stra and Kerkhof(1989). Results show a very restrictive attitude in Ma dras, rejecting the right to commit suicide, nearly always judging sui cide as a cowardly act, and rejecting the idea of assisted suicide. On the other hand, in Vienna a more permissive attitude was found. It is interpreted that the Indian pattern comes close to a ''medical'' or ' 'disease model'', with stronger emphasis on mental illness, impulsiven ess and emotional aspects, whereas the Viennese pattern reflects a ''t heoretical''. ''rational model'', concentrating on cognitive factors a nd minimizing the influence of mental illness, emotional difficulties and restrictions related to suicidal behaviour. This pattern may be in fluenced by the public discussion on assisted suicide and the right to die in Europe in the last decade. Possible relations to the risk for actual suicidal behaviour are discussed using respective answers conce rning previous suicidal ideation and suicide attempts. The answers con cerning suicidal ideation seem to be strongly influenced by the differ ent attitude patterns: only 16.8% reported previous suicidal ideation in Madras, compared to 51.5% in Vienna, whereas the percentage of repo rted suicide attempts is equal in both centres (5.9%:4.9%).