Objective: To understand the status of suicidal ideation and attitudes towards suicide among university students in Harbin as well as the influencing factors.
Methods: A multi-stage stratified random clustered sampling procedure was used to select university students (n = 5240) who were aged 16 - 43 years, in Harbin. Factors associated with suicidal ideation were analyzed with logistic regression by demography characteristics and scores on the suicide acceptability scale and the social support rating scale (SSRS).
Results: According to our data, 9.1% of the respondents had suicidal ideation and 1% had made a suicide attempt. The influencing factors for suicidal ideation were gender, major, relationship between their parents, acceptance on the idea of suicide attempt, the state of social support and the history of suicide attempt.
Conclusion: The suicidal ideation of university students in Harbin should not be neglected. Measures should be taken to improve the quality of mental health and to reduce the ratio of suicide behavior among college students.