Suicide behavior: community attitudes and beliefs.
A survey of community attitudes and beliefs concerning suicidal behavior is reported, in which women from two suburbs differing widely in their rates of hospital treated self-poisoning and self-injury were interviewed. Sympathetic attitudes to suicidal behavior and to those who engage in it were significantly more prevalent in the low-risk area. Community beliefs regarding lethality, etiology, and ability to distinguish suicide and "attempted suicide" are reported, and the relationship of these beliefs to attitudes is discussed.
D001290:Attitude; D001315:Australia; D004645:Empathy; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D009042:Motivation; D011041:Poisoning; D011639:Public Opinion; D012306:Risk; D012923:Social Class; D013406:Suicide, Attempted