The beliefs in the inheritance of risk factors for suicide scale (BIRFSS): cross-cultural validation in Estonia, Malaysia, Romania, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
The genetics of suicide is increasingly recognized and relevant for mental health literacy, but actual beliefs may lag behind current knowledge. We examined such beliefs in student samples (total N = 686) from Estonia, Malaysia, Romania, the United Kingdom, and the United States with the Beliefs in the Inheritance of Risk Factors for Suicide Scale. Cultural effects were small, those of key demographics nil. Several facets of construct validity were demonstrated. Marked differences in perceived plausibility of evidence about the genetics of suicide according to research design, observed in all samples, may be of general interest for investigating lay theories of abnormal behavior and communicating behavioral and psychiatric genetic research findings.
Voracek
Martin
M
Department of Basic Psychological Research, School of Psychology , University of Vienna, Viena, Australia. martin.voracek@univie.ac.at
Loibl
Lisa Mariella
LM
Swami
Viren
V
Vintilă
Mona
M
Kõlves
Kairi
K
Sinniah
Dhachayani
D
Pillai
Subash Kumar
SK
Ponnusamy
Subramaniam
S
Sonneck
Gernot
G
Furnham
Adrian
A
Lester
David
D
D003431:Cross-Cultural Comparison; D003469:Culture; D004957:Estonia / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008296:Malaysia / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D012307:Risk Factors; D012383:Romania / Q000453:epidemiology; D013405:Suicide / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D006113:United Kingdom / Q000453:epidemiology; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D055815:Young Adult