Attitudes towards help and help seeking behavior of suicidal Lithuanian adolescents

Abstract

Surveys of show that suicidal ideation and behavior is highly spread among Lithuanian schoolchildren. Aim: To evaluate an attitudes towards help and help seeking behavior among 13 and 15 year old Lithuanian schoolchildren. Methods: Data from the Health Behaviors in School-aged Children (HBSC) study, collected in Lithuania during 2014 school-year were used in present analyses. The sample of 3715 thirteen and fifteen year old schoolchildren were surveyed anonymously. Multivariate logistic regression model was applied to investigate the importance of adolescents’ help seeking attitudes for suicidal risk. Findings: The research show that suicidal adolescents are more prone to express negative attitudes towards help seeking in comparison to non-suicidal ones. Boys in comparison to girls were more likely to state that nobody is able to help and it is shameful to ask for help while facing emotional problems. All investigated adolescents were lacking information where to find help when needed. Discussion: Adolescents’ attitudes toward help seeking might be a reflection of an attitudes spread in the society. This suicide risk factor and should be taken into consideration in suicide prevention programs.