Adolescents' Attitudes Toward Suicide

Abstract

Families of suicidal youths are viewed as more psychologically disturbed than families of youths who die from other causes, and experience other comparatively negative reactions as well. Likewise, divorced families also are viewed more negatively than intact families. To see whether a combination of suicide plus divorce led adolescents have particularly negative views, 120 high school students read one of four versions of a newspaper article about a teen!s death. The teen was described as having lived either with both parents (I) or with his divorced mother (D), and as having died either from a rare disease (VI) or by suicide (S). As compared to VI teens and their parents, D teens and their parents were seen as more psychologically disturbed; and S parents were seen as more (a) to blame, (b) sad and depressed, (c) ashamed, and (d) in need of professional psychological help. As compared to I teens and their parents, D teens and their parents were seen as more psychologically disturbed, and, in the case of ...