Suicide rates among young adults have risen in recent years, making suicide a growing public health concern. This situation necessitates a deeper examination of the psychological mechanisms underlying the probability of suicide. This study investigated the effect of basic psychological needs, the meaning of life, and life engagement on the probability of suicide among university students. This descriptive and correlational study was conducted with 415 students aged 18 to 28 years selected using convenience sampling at a university in southern Türkiye. The researcher collected data using the Personal Information Form, Suicide Probability Scale, Basic Psychological Needs Scale, Meaning in Life Scale, and Life Engagement Scale and analyzed them using descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation, and multiple regression analysis. The total basic psychological needs score of participants was 137.66 ± 25.09, meaning in life was 46.60 ± 10.34, life engagement was 24.03 ± 4.46, and suicide probability was 75.15 ± 14.96. It was determined that there were significant associations between basic psychological needs, meaning in life, life engagement and suicide probability ( p < 0.001). Basic psychological needs, search for meaning, presence of meaning and life engagement together explained 46.6% of the total variance in suicide probability (Adjusted R²=0.466). Life engagement and basic psychological needs were determined as the strongest predictors of suicide probability. These findings may contribute to understanding the current state of suicide probability among university students, identifying related factors, and developing effective psychosocial interventions to prevent suicidal behaviors.
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KABAKOĞLU et al. (2026) studied this question.
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