Lj. Higgins et Lm. Range, Expectations of contagion following suicide: Does surrounding information make a difference?, J SOC CLIN, 18(4), 1999, pp. 436-449
Does suicide portrayed as a deviant act by a mentally disturbed person enge
nder less expectation of suicidal contagion than suicide portrayed as a pos
itive act by a healthy person! In this study, 201 undergraduates read one o
f eight brief vignettes about a 16-year-old ("Pat") then answered contagion
and attitude scales. A 2 (Psychiatric History: Yes/No) x 2 (Behavior: Seek
ing Therapy/Suicide) x 2 (Reaction: Positive/Negative) MANOVA yielded signi
ficant main effects for behavior (Suicide viewed more negatively than thera
py) and reaction (Suicide following a negative reaction viewed somewhat mor
e negatively than suicide following a positive reaction), and a significant
history by behavior interaction. When Pat had a mental illness history and
sought therapy, Pat's action was rated as more necessary than when Pat had
no mental illness history and sought therapy. When Pat had a mental illnes
s history and committed suicide, Pat's act was rated as less immature than
when Pat had no mental illness history and committed suicide. Respondents r
ated others as more likely than themselves to imitate suicide, but less lik
ely to imitate seeking therapy. Students apparently are sure they are invul
nerable to suicidal contagion, but are neutral about others, regardless of
surrounding circumstances.