Suicide literacy and its association with attitude towards seeking professional psychological help among Iranian nursing students

Due to high educational and clinical stress, nursing students face mental issues. Suicide literacy is defined as a set of knowledge and skills to recognize, assess, and appropriately respond to suicidal thoughts. However, there is ongoing debate regarding nursing students' attitudes toward seeking professional psychological help and the extent to which they actually utilize these mental health services. The objective of this study was to examine suicide literacy and its association with attitude towards seeking professional psychological help among nursing students. A descriptive design conducted on 500 nursing students in Tabriz faculty of nursing and midwifery, Iran in 2025. A stratified sampling approach selected the participants. Tools for data gathering comprised a demographic-social questionnaire and the literacy of suicide scale (LOSS), and attitude towards seeking professional psychological help (ATSPPH-SF). Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation, and multiple linear regression to assess relationships and identify predictors of help‑seeking attitudes. The findings of the research indicated that the student`s the mean Literacy of Suicide and ATSPPH scores was12.61 ± 4.51 (range: 0-26) and 16.31 ± 3.75 (range: 0-30), respectively. Suicide literacy was significantly and positively correlated with attitudes toward seeking professional psychological help (r = 0.185, p ≤ 0.001), indicating that higher levels of knowledge were associated with more favorable attitudes. In the multiple linear regression model, suicide literacy and gender remained a significant predictor of help‑seeking attitudes), explaining a modest proportion of variance in attitudes (adjusted R² = 0.119). Although nursing students' suicide literacy and help‑seeking attitudes were generally low, greater suicide literacy was associated with more positive attitudes toward professional help‑seeking. These findings suggest that educational interventions targeting suicide knowledge may support improved readiness to seek psychological support. Future studies using longitudinal designs are recommended to clarify causal pathways and examine additional predictors such as stigma and perceived social support.