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Adolescents' Attitudes About the Role of Mental Illness in Suicide, and Their Association with Suicide Risk
Author(s) -
Lake Alison M.,
Kandasamy Suganthi,
Kleinman Marjorie,
Gould Madelyn S.
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
suicide and life‐threatening behavior
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.544
H-Index - 90
eISSN - 1943-278X
pISSN - 0363-0234
DOI - 10.1111/sltb.12052
Subject(s) - association (psychology) , mental illness , suicide risk , suicide prevention , psychiatry , psychology , medicine , poison control , mental health , clinical psychology , medical emergency , psychotherapist
We examined teenagers' attitudes about the role of mental illness in suicidal behavior and the relationship between these attitudes and suicide risk. Serious suicidal ideation or behavior and associated risk factors (gender, depression, substance problems, and first‐hand experience with a suicidal peer) were assessed in 2,419 students at six New York high schools. Less than one fifth of students thought that mental illness was a major contributor to suicide. Suicidal adolescents and those at risk were less likely than their nonsuicidal and low‐risk counterparts to associate suicide with mental illness. Our findings contribute to the debate over whether accepting attitudes toward suicide increase suicide risk.