| The purpose of this study was to investigate the association of socioeconomic
status and dimensions of mental health with suicidal tendency among students of the University
of Tabriz, Iran.
The present descriptive and correlational study was conducted on 900 students of the
University of Tabriz in the academic year of 2016-2017. The study tools included the Beck
Scale for Suicidal Ideation (BSSI), Symptom Checklist-90-Revised (SCL-90-R), and SocioEconomic Status Questionnaire (SESQ) of Ghodratnama et al.
Correlation results showed that depression (r = 0.514, P < 0.01), psychoticism
(r = 0.478, P < 0.01), and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) (r = 0.463, P < 0.01),
respectively, had the highest correlation with suicidal ideations. Somatization was also
correlated with suicidal ideations (r = 0.231, P < 0.05). Of the components of socioeconomic
status, income (r = -0.401, P < 0.01), and the economic class component (r = -0.321, P < 0.05)
had the highest correlation coefficients, respectively. Results of regression analysis indicated
that the mental health variable predicted suicide in merely 58.6% of people. Moreover, with the
addition of the socioeconomic status variable to the equation, both variables predicted an
average of 71.6% of the overall suicidal ideations among individuals.
Results indicated that mental health difficulties and socioeconomic problems might
have a negative impact on the development of suicidal thoughts. Therefore, it is highly
recommended that students’ mental health and social/financial problems be taken into
consideration by educational m |