SUICIDAL-BEHAVIOR AS RELATED TO SOCIAL SUPPORT AND ASSERTIVENESS AMONG SWEDISH AND TURKISH HIGH-SCHOOL-STUDENTS - A CROSS-CULTURAL INVESTIGATION

Among 652 Swedish and 654 Turkish adolescents, the study found that 61 Swedish (9.4%) and 71 Turkish (10.9%) adolescents reported that they had made previous suicide attempts. Previous psychiatric contact, fema le gender, low perceived family support, and suicide attempts in the f amily for the Swedish group and suicide attempts in the family, low pe rceived family support, psychiatric disorder in the family, and previo us psychiatric contact variables in the Turkish sample were found to b e associated with previous attempts. Low perceived family support, pre vious suicide attempts, low perceived peer support, female gender, pre vious psychiatric contact, low positive assertion skills, and a small number of friends for the Swedish; and low perceived family support, p revious suicide attempts, low perceived peer support, suicide attempts in the family, and previous psychiatric contact variables for the Tur kish group were found to be significant predictors of current suicidal risk.