College Students' Views on Suicide

College students were asked to rate the acceptability of suicide for themselves and for others in various circumstances. It was hypothesized that acceptability would vary as a function of circumstance of the suicide, the students' religious affiliation, history of past attempts, and whether the...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of American college health 1996-05, Vol.44 (6), p.283-287
Main Authors: King, Stephen R., Hampton, Walter R., Bernstein, Bruce, Schichor, Aric
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Adult
Attitude to Death
Attitudes
Chronic Disease
chronic illness
Data Interpretation, Statistical
Depression
Female
Humans
Male
Religion
religious affiliation
Students
Suicide
Suicide, Attempted
Surveys and Questionnaires
Terminal Care
Universities
university students
USA
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Summary:College students were asked to rate the acceptability of suicide for themselves and for others in various circumstances. It was hypothesized that acceptability would vary as a function of circumstance of the suicide, the students' religious affiliation, history of past attempts, and whether the suicide was contemplated for oneself or another. The authors found that the highest acceptability for suicide was in the circumstances of terminal or chronic illness and depression. Students affiliated with organized religion were less accepting of suicide than were the individuals without such an affiliation. Previous suicide attempts were associated with greater acceptance of suicide for oneself or for others. In general, participants were more likely to accept suicide for others than for themselves, but the individuals who had previously attempted suicide displayed the opposite pattern under the circumstance of depression. Implications of these findings and directions for further research are discussed.
ISSN:0744-8481
1940-3208
DOI:10.1080/07448481.1996.9936856