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Cited by 36Suicide and Self-Harm StudiesHomicide, Infanticide, and Child AbuseMental Health Treatment and Access

Beliefs about suicide acceptability in the United States: how do they affect suicide mortality?

Phillips, Julie A, Luth, Elizabeth A·2018·The Journals of Gerontology: Series B
DOI 10.1093/geronb/gbx153
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Abstract

OBJECTIVES: Societies develop cultural scripts to understand suicide and define conditions under which the act is acceptable. Prior empirical work suggests that such attitudes are important in understanding some forms of suicidal behavior among adolescents and high-risk populations. This study examines whether expressions of suicide acceptability under different circumstances are predictive of subsequent death by suicide in the general U.S. adult population and whether the effects differ over the life course. METHOD: The study uses 1978-2010 General Social Survey data linked to the National Death Index through 2014 (n = 31,838). Cox survival models identify risk factors for suicide mortality, including attitudinal and cohort effects. RESULTS: Expressions of suicide acceptability are predictive of subsequent death by suicide-in some cases associated with a twofold increase in risk. Attitudes elevate the suicide hazard among older (>55 years) adults but not among younger (ages 33-54) adults. Fully-adjusted models reveal that the effects of attitudes toward suicide acceptability on suicide mortality are strongest for social circumstances (family dishonor; bankruptcy). DISCUSSION: Results point to the role of cultural factors and social attitudes in suicide. There may be utility in measuring attitudes in assessments of suicide risk.

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Crossref · 10.1093/geronb/gbx153

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  • Research links explicit and implicit beliefs about suicide to suicide attempts and even death.

    “Recognizing – and measuring – this may be a useful pathway for future research to examine; particularly given research linking explicit and implicit beliefs about suicide to suicide attempts and even death (Gould et al., 2004; Nock et al., 2010; Phillips and Luth, 2018).”

    From The Social Roots of Suicide: Theorizing How the External Social World Matters to Suicide and Suicide Prevention (2021) · cites this paper as Phillips and Luth, 2018

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Authors
Phillips, J. A., & Luth, E. A.
Affiliations
  • Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey (US)
  • Weill Cornell Medicine (US)
Corresponding author
Phillips, Julie A
ORCID
Venue
The Journals of Gerontology: Series B
Publisher
Oxford University Press (OUP)
Published
2018-01-25
Volume
75
Issue
2
Pages
414-425
ISSN
  • 1079-5014 (ISSN-L)
  • 1758-5368
DOI
10.1093/geronb/gbx153
OpenAlex
W2789643766
Cited by
35
References
60
Citations by year
2026: 1 · 2025: 2 · 2024: 5 · 2023: 5 · 2022: 7 · 2021: 7 · 2020: 1 · 2019: 4 · 2018: 3
FWCI
2.71
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Locations
  • The Journals of Gerontology Series B (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
Funders
American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (SRG-0-108-13)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Suicide and Self-Harm Studies
  • Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Homicide, Infanticide, and Child Abuse
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Mental Health Treatment and Access
Keywords
attitudes toward suicide, suicide mortality, cultural scripts, life course, older adults, bankruptcy, suicide risk assessment, cohort effects, social attitudes
MeSH terms
Suicide, Completed, Adult, Attitude, Culture, Female, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Surveys and Questionnaires, Risk Factors, Suicide, United States, Proportional Hazards Models

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