Suicidal Ideation and Spirituality of College Students

Choi, Soon-Ock; Kim, Sook-Nam

The Journal of Korean Academic Society of Nursing Education 2011;17(2):190-199.
Published online August 31, 2011.

Choi, Soon-Ock;Kim, Sook-Nam;

¹College of Nursing, Catholic University of Pusan
²College of Nursing, Catholic University of Pusan

대학생의 자살생각과 영성

최순옥, 김숙남

¹부산가톨릭대학교 간호대학
²부산가톨릭대학교 간호대학

Abstract

Purpose
This study was done to investigate suicidal ideation and spirituality of college students. Method: The participants were 295 college students located in Busan city and Kyung Nam Province. The study used a 'Suicidal Ideation Questionnaire' and a 'Korean Spirituality Scale'. The collected data was analyzed for t-test, ANOVA, Pearson's correlation coefficient, and stepwise multiple regression with the SPSS/WIN 19.0 program. Result: The level of suicidal ideation and spirituality of the participants averaged 1.73 and 3.44 respectively. In each sub-factor, meaning and purpose of life was the highest at 3.70 points. In differences of suicidal ideation and spirituality followed by general characteristics, there were significant differences according to gender, major, religion, and cohabitation. There were inverse correlations among suicidal ideation, spirituality level, connectedness, meaning and purpose of life, inner resources, and awareness. Suicidal ideation was significantly associated with major, spirituality level, connectedness, and meaning and purpose of life which explained 22% of variance in suicidal ideation. Conclusion: Future research should examine relations between college students' suicidal ideation and spirituality level through random sampling. Development of a program to lessen college students' suicidal ideation and to raise their spirituality level should be prudent.

Key Words: College students, Suicidal ideation, Spirituality