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Abstract
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Despite the fact that older adults have the highest suicide rate of any age group, little is known about the kind of information older adults possess about suicide facts.
PURPOSE of study was to investigate the prevalence of a number of misconceptions about suicide in younger (N = 116; age range = 17-52 years; M age = 26.2 years) and older (N = 62; age range = 55-79 years; M age = 62.4 years) adults and to assess for differences in levels of knowledge between younger and older persons. Volunteer participants completed anonymously a 47-item suicide knowledge quiz, with items derived from the Revised Facts on Suicide Quiz (Hubbard & McIntosh, 1992) and several abnormal psychology texts. Responses to the items were analyzed for percentage of endorsement and differential endorsement as related to age. Using 70% correct per item as the criterion for adequate knowledge, results for older adults indicated that level of knowledge was good for 16 items (34%) but poor for 31 items (66%). Younger adults showed good knowledge on 19 items (40%). Chi-square revealed that older adults had poorer knowledge on 3 items and better knowledge on 3 items compared to younger adults. This study suggests that misconceptions about suicide are prevalent among younger and older persons. Education efforts aimed at decreasing myths about suicide may serve to heighten awareness of the problem and increase adaptive behaviors in some individuals. © 2000 by The Haworth Press, Inc.
Language: en |