Attitudes toward Suicide among Attempters, Contemplators, and Nonattempters

Abstract
The Suicide Opinion Questionnaire (SOQ) was administered to a sample ( N=738) of undergraduate volunteers, and responses were analyzed comparing attempters ( N = 35), contemplators ( N = 131) and nonattempters ( N = 483). A factor analysis indicated seven significant factors accounting for 24.2 percent of the total variance. A discriminant function analysis, using the seven factors, yielded two significant functions that discriminated respondents on the basis of sex and prior suicide history. The results are considered in the context of three issues (acceptability, lethality, and mental illness) important to the dynamics of suicide, and in terms of Goffman's theory of deviance.

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