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Do Extenuating Circumstances Influence African American Women's Attitudes Toward Suicide?
Author(s) -
Marion Michelle S.,
Range Lillian M.
Publication year - 2003
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 - 10.1521/suli.33.1.44.22789
Subject(s) - religiosity , commit , ethnic group , suicide prevention , african american , depression (economics) , psychology , poison control , psychiatry , social psychology , medicine , political science , sociology , medical emergency , ethnology , database , computer science , law , economics , macroeconomics
African American women commit suicide less than other U.S. women and men, perhaps partly due to strong, anti‐suicide attitudes. To see if suicide attitudes might be softened by extenuating circumstances such as terminal illness, 192 African American and European American women imagined themselves in one of four extenuating circumstances, then completed measures of suicide acceptability and religiosity. Both ethnic groups reported a greater likelihood of suicide when imagining depression, regardless of religiosity. Religiosity, but not extenuating circumstances, corresponded with negative attitudes toward suicide and physician assisted suicide. These African American and European American young women remained steadfastly against suicide, regardless of circumstance.