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Short‐ and Long‐Term Impact of an Undergraduate Suicidology Course
Author(s) -
Muehlenkamp Jennifer J.,
Thoen Sophia K.
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
suicide and life‐threatening behavior
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.544
H-Index - 90
eISSN - 1943-278X
pISSN - 0363-0234
DOI - 10.1111/sltb.12552
Subject(s) - suicidology , suicide prevention , poison control , psychology , stigma (botany) , human factors and ergonomics , population , injury prevention , medical education , medicine , clinical psychology , psychiatry , medical emergency , environmental health
Objective Suicide prevention models emphasize the importance of education as a foundational element for success. Yet, courses on suicidology are rare and those that do exist focus on clinical intervention skills at the graduate level, missing a critical population of undergraduate students. The current study evaluated the short and long‐term impact of a semester long liberal education undergraduate course in suicidology. Method Students enrolled in either the experimental (Understanding Suicide) or control course completed pre‐ post‐ and 4‐month follow‐up surveys assessing objective knowledge about suicide, suicide stigma, attitudes towards suicidal persons, and suicide prevention advocacy. Results Mixed repeated measures ANCOVA s indicated significant interactions between course enrollment over time for all the outcome variables. Students in the suicidology course showed significant pre‐ to post‐ increases in knowledge and suicide prevention advocacy, alongside reductions in suicide stigma and negative attitudes compared to students in the control course, who showed no significant pre‐/post changes. All effects were maintained over time. Conclusion Providing general education undergraduate courses in suicidology may be an important avenue for building a motivated and informed public that can sustain suicide prevention efforts in their communities.