Adolescents' Attitudes About the Role of Mental Illness in Suicide,and Their Association with Suicide Risk |
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| Authors: | Alison M. Lake MA Suganthi Kandasamy MPH Marjorie Kleinman MS Madelyn S. Gould PhD MPH |
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| Affiliation: | 1. Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, New York State Psychiatric Institute, , New York, NY, USA;2. Department of Epidemiology, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, , New York, NY, USA;3. Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (College of Physicians & Surgeons) and Department of Epidemiology (School of Public Health), Columbia University, New York State Psychiatric Institute, , New York, NY, USA |
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| Abstract: | 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. |
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