Literacy and stigma of suicide in Bangladesh: Scales validation and status assessment among university students

Background: Increased suicide literacy and reduced stigma toward suicide facilitate the care-seeking for suicidal behavior. However, no attempt has been identified to determine these two vital aspects in Bangladesh.

Objectives: We aimed to validate the literacy of suicide scale and stigma of suicide scale into Bangla along with the determination of the level of suicide literacy and stigma toward suicide.

Methods: We conducted this study between April and June 2021. Data were collected from medical school and university students by Google form. We used a questionnaire consisting of four segments (i.e., sociodemographic questionnaire, a questionnaire for suicidal behavior, Bangla literacy of suicide scale [LOSS-B], and Bangla stigma of suicide scale [SOSS-B]) for data collection. We tested the psychometric properties of the scales in a sample of 529 students and examined factors associated with suicide stigma and literacy.

Results: The mean age of the students was 22.61 ± 1.68 (range 18-27) years, 274 (51.8%) were males, 476 (89.9%) were graduate students, and 490 (92.6%) were unmarried. The mean score of LOSS was 4.27 ± 1.99 ranging from 0 to 10. Factor analysis revealed acceptable psychometric properties of SOSS-B. The literacy was significantly higher in females, students of medicine, having a family history of suicidal attempts, and a history of student nonfatal attempts, while stigma was significantly lower among the females and a history of past attempts.

Conclusions: This study revealed the level of literacy and stigma and culturally tested the psychometric properties of the LOSS-B and SOSS-B among university students in Bangladesh.