Jiao Y et al., 2014 [27]

Cross-sectional study of attitudes about suicide among psychiatrists in Shanghai

187 psychiatrists from six psychiatric hospitals in Shanghai.

We have used the Scale of Public Attitudes About Suicide (SPAS-a 47-item scale developed and validated in China to assess knowledge about suicide and seven specific attitudes about suicide. The results were compared to those of 548 urban community members (assessed in a previous study).

Only 37% of the psychiatrists agreed correctly that talking about suicide-related issues with an individual would not precipitate suicidal behavior, and only 41% agreed that those who state that they intend to kill themselves might actually do so.

MEDLINE/ PubMed

The internal consistency measures of the SPAS (Scale of Public Attitudes About Suicide) subscales, which were assessed based on the sample of psychiatrists, were satisfactory, but test-retest reliability of the scale was not assessed. Hospitals were not chosen randomly from all psychiatric institutions in Shanghai. The sample of the community used for comparison with the Shanghai psychiatrists was collected in Tianjin; thus, Tianjin results might not be the same as of residents from the community in Shanghai. The number of demographic variables collected on the responders was limited. Only three specific knowledge-related items are considered in the SPAS.