Journal of Social Problems of Iran

Journal of Social Problems of Iran

A comparative study of self-differentiation on help-seeking behavior in medical students with suicidal thoughts

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors
Changiz Rahimi Taghanaki 1
Atefeh Borouni 2
Danial Zamani 3
1 Full Professor, Department of Clinical Psychology, Faculty of Education and Psychology, Shiraz University, Shiraz, Iran.
2 PhD student, Department of Clinical Psychology, Corresponding Author, Faculty of Education and Psychology, Shiraz University, Shiraz, Iran.
3 Medical Student, Department of Medical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran.
10.22059/ijsp.2026.407551.671364
Abstract
The high prevalence of suicide in medical students is attributed to the high levels of job stress they endure during their studies. It is also important to examine other areas because medical students are active members of society.


The present study was applied in terms of purpose and, with regard to the method of data collection, employed a descriptive-comparative research design. The statistical population of the study was all medical students of Shiraz Medical Sciences in 1403. From the statistical population, 205 people were selected by the available sampling method and responded to the Beck Suicidality Scale (1993), the Short Form of Self-Differentiation (2011), and the Short Form of the Fisher and Farina Psychological Help-Seeking Scale (1995) using an online survey form. The data were analyzed using one-way multivariate analysis of variance and SPSS24 statistical software.


The results showed that the mean of suicidal thoughts and desire to die with low help-seeking behavior was significantly higher than that of people with high help-seeking behavior. Also, the average self-differentiation of individuals with high help-seeking behavior was significantly higher than the group of individuals with low help-seeking behavior.


Conclusion: According to the findings, it can be concluded that self-differentiation training is a strategy to reduce the anxiety level of medical students with mood disorders and increase their ability to use and modify help-seeking behaviors and effective coping strategies to create an effective step towards reducing the suicide rate in these individuals.
Keywords
Suicide
Self-differentiation
Help-seeking behavior
medical students
job stress
Subjects
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Journal of Social Problems of Iran
Volume 17, Issue 1
July 2026
Pages 307-335