China is the only country in the world where the suicide rate for women is higher than that for men. In particular there is current concern about a high suicide rate for women living in rural areas. In this study, two samples of young women ages 20 to 35, one from rural China (n=52) and one from rural United States (n=52) were interviewed as to suicide ideation and suicide risk, as related to psychosocial variables of self-esteem, coping, social support, and attitudes toward suicide. Significant mean differences were obtained between samples on all eleven variables. The pattern of intercorrelations between variables showed both similarities and differences in the two samples. A stepwise multiple-regression analysis indicated that the same four variables, albeit in different order, were predictive of suicide: these variables were self-esteem, instrumental support, the attitude that suicide is morally bad, and an overall rating of coping.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
BeckA. T.KovacsM., & WeissmanA. (1979). Assessment of suicidal intention: The scale for suicide ideation. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 47, 343–352.
2.
BondM. H.WanK. C.LeungK., & GiacaloneR. A. (1985). How are responses to verbal insult related to cultural collectivism and power distance?Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 16, 111–127.
3.
BrislinR. W. (1979). Back translation for cross-cultural research. Journal of Cross-Cultural Research, 1, 185–216.
4.
BrislinR. W. (1986). The wording and translation of research instruments. In LonnerW. J. & BerryJ. W. (Eds.), Field methods in cross-cultural research (pp. 137–164). Beverly Hills, CA: Sage Publications.
5.
CharronM. F. (1981). Le suicide au Quebec: Analyse statistique.Quebec: Government du Quebec, Ministere des Affaires Sociales.
6.
ChilesJ. A.StrosahlK. D.PingZ. Y., & MichaelM. C. (1989). Depression, hopelessness, and suicidal behavior in Chinese and American psychiatric patients. American Journal of Psychiatry, 146, 339–344.
7.
D'AttilioJ. P.CampbellB. M.LuboldP.JacobsonT., & RichardJ. A. (1992). Social support and suicide potential: Preliminary findings for adolescent populations. Psychological Reports.70, 76–78.
8.
DemiA.MoneyhamL.SowellR., & CohenL. (1997). Coping strategies used by HIV infected women. Omega, 35, 377–391.
9.
DominoG. (1982). Get high on yourself: The effectiveness of a television campaign on self-esteem, drug use, and drug attitudes. Journal of Drug Education, 12, 163–171.
10.
DominoG. (1996). Test-retest reliability of the Suicide Opinion Questionnaire. Psychological Reports, 78, 1–2.
11.
DominoG. (2000). Psychological testing.Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
12.
DominoG., & BlumbergE. (1987). An application of Gough's conceptual model to a measure of adolescent self-esteem. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 16, 179–190.
DominoG.LinJ., & ChangO. (1995). Attitudes toward suicide and conservatism: A comparison of Chinese and United States samples. Omega, 31, 237–252.
15.
DominoG.MooreD.WestlakeL., & GibsonL. (1982). Attitudes toward suicide: A factor analytic approach. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 38, 257–262.
16.
DominoG.NilesS., & RajS. D. (1993–94). Attitudes toward suicide: A cross-cultural comparison of Singaporean and Australian University students. Omega, 28, 125–137.
17.
DominoG.ShenD., & SuS. (1999). Acceptability of suicide: Attitudes in Taiwan and the United States. Omega, 38, 303–316.
18.
DominoG., & SuS. (1994–95). Conservatism and attitudes toward suicide: A study of Taiwanese-American and U.S. adults. Omega, 30, 131–143.
19.
DominoG., & TakahashiY. (1991). Attitudes toward suicide in Japanese and American medical students. Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior, 21, 345–359.
20.
DubowE. F.KauschD. F.BlumM. C.ReedJ., & BuschE. (1989). Correlates of suicidal ideation and attempts in a community sample of junior high and high school students. Journal of Clinical Child Psychology, 18, 158–166.
21.
FeifelH., & SchagD. (1998). Death outlook and social issues. Omega, 11, 201–215.
22.
GarrisonC. Z.JacksonK. L.AddyC. L.McKeownR. E., & WallerJ. L. (1991). Suicidal behavior in young adolescents. American Journal of Epidemiology, 133, 1005–1014.
23.
Howard-PitneyB.LaFromboiseT. D.BasilM.SeptemberB., & JohnsonM. (1992). Psychological and social indicators of suicide ideation and suicide attempts in Zuni adolescents. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 60, 473–476.
24.
HuangK., & PilisukM. (1977). At the threshold of the Golden Gate: Special problems of a neglected minority. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 47, 701–713.
25.
HumphreyJ.NiswanderD., & CaseyT. (1971). A comparison of suicide thinkers and attempters. Diseases of the Nervous System, 32, 825–830.
26.
JacobsJ. (1971). Adolescent suicide.NY: John Wiley.
27.
KotlerM.FinkelsteinG.MolchoA.BotsisA. J.PlutchikR.BrownS., & van PraagH. M. (1993). Correlates of suicide and violence risk in an inpatient population: Coping styles and social support. Psychiatric Research, 47, 281–290.
28.
KumarG., & SteerR. A. (1995). Psychosocial correlates of suicidal ideation in adolescent psychiatric inpatients. Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior, 25, 339–346.
29.
LettieriD. J. (1974). Suicidal death prediction scales. In BeckA. T.ResnickH. L. P., & LettieriD. J. (Eds.), The prediction of suicide (pp. 163–192). Bowie, MD: Charles Press Publishers.
30.
LeungK., & BondM. H. (1984). The impact of cultural collectivism on reward allocation. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 47, 793–804.
31.
LevensonM. (1974). Cognitive correlates of suicidal risk. In NeuringerC. (Ed.), Psychological assessment of suicidal risk.New York: Charles C. Thomas.
32.
LimbacherM., & DominoG. (1985–86). Attitudes toward suicide among attempters, contemplators, and non-attempters. Omega, 16, 319–328.
33.
LinehanM. M.ChilesJ. A.EganK. J.DevineR. H., & LaffauJ. A. (1986). Presenting problems of parasuicides versus suicide ideators and nonsuicidal psychiatric patients. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 54, 880–881.
34.
MarcianoP. M., & KazdinA. E. (1994). Self-esteem, depression, hopelessness, and suicidal intent among psychiatrically disturbed inpatient children. Journal of Clinical Child Psychology, 23, 151–160.
35.
MeneeseW. B., & YutrzenkaA. A. (1990). Correlates of suicidal ideation among rural adolescents. Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior, 20, 206–212.
36.
MillingL.CampbellN. B.BushE., & LaughlinA. (1996). Affective and behavioral correlates of suicidality among hospitalized pre-adolescent children. Journal of Clinical Child Psychology, 25, 454–462.
37.
MinearJ. D., & BrushL. R. (1981). The correlations of attitudes toward suicide with death anxiety, religiosity, and personal closeness to suicide. Omega, 11, 317–324.
38.
MoosR. H.InselP. M., & HumphreyB. (1974). Combined preliminary manual for the family, work, and group environment scales.Palo Alto, CA: Consulting Psychologists Press.
39.
MoranoC. D.CislerR. A., & LemerondJ. (1993). Risk factors for adolescent suicidal behavior: Loss, insufficient familial support, and hopelessness. Adolescence, 28, 851–865.
40.
MurrayC. J. L., & LopezA. D. (1996). The global burden of disease.Boston, MA: Harvard University Press.
ParryG., & ShapiroD. A. (1986). Social support and life events in working class women. Archives of General Psychiatry, 43, 315–323.
43.
PatsiokasA. T.ClumG. A., & LuscombR. L. (1979). Cognitive characteristics of suicide attempters. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 47, 478–484.
44.
PaykelE.MyersJ.LindenthalJ., & TannerJ. (1974). Suicide feelings in the general population. British Journal of Psychiatry, 124, 460–469.
45.
PfefferC. R. (1981). The family systems of suicidal children. American Journal of Psychotherapy, 35, 330–341.
46.
PfefferC. R.PlutchikR.MizruchiM. S.FaughnanL.MintzM., & SchindledeckerR. (1989). Changes in suicidal behavior in child psychiatric inpatients. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, 79, 431–435.
47.
PrigersonH. G., & SlimackM. J. (1999). Gender differences in clinical correlates of suicidality among young adults. The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 187, 23–31.
48.
RobbinsD. R., & AlessiN. E. (1985). Depressive symptoms and suicidal behavior in adolescents. American Journal of Psychiatry, 142, 588–592.
49.
RohdeP.SeeleyJ. R., & MaceD. E. (1997). Correlates of suicidal behavior in a juvenile detention population. Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior, 27, 164–175.
50.
SchmidtkeA.WeinackerB.ApterA.BermanA.Bille-BraheU.BotsisA.De LeoD.DoneuxA.GoldneyR.GradO.HaringC.HawtonK.HjelmelandH.KelleherM.KerkhofA.LeenaarsA.LonnquistJ.MichelK.OstamoA.Salander-RenbergE.SayilI.TakahashiC.Van HeeringenC.VarnikA., & WassermanD. (1999). Suicide rates in the world: Update. Archives of Suicide Research, 5, 81–89.
51.
SchwartzA. J., & WhitakerL. C. (1990). Suicide among college students: Assessment, treatment, and intervention. In BlumenthalS. J. & KupferD. J. (Eds.), Suicide over the life cycle: Risk factors, assessment and treatment of suicidal patients, (pp. 303–340). Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Press.
52.
ShiangJ.BarronS.XiaoS. Y.BlinnR., & TamW. C. C. (1998). Suicide and gender in the People's Republic of China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Chinese in the U.S. Transcultural Psychiatry, 35, 235–251.
53.
SteerR. A.KumarG., & BeckA. T. (1993). Self-reported suicidal ideation in adolescent psychiatric inpatients. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 61, 1096–1099.
54.
WagnerB. M.ColeR. E., & SchwartzmanP. (1995). Psychosocial correlates of suicide attempts among junior and senior high school youth. Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior, 25, 358–372.
55.
WetzelR. (1975). Self-concept and suicide intent. Psychological Reports, 36, 279–282.
56.
WongP. T., & RekerG. T. (1985). Stress, coping, and well-being in Anglo and Chinese elderly. Canadian Journal on Aging, 4, 29–37.
57.
ZhangJ. (1996). Suicides in Beijing, China, 1992–1993. Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior, 26, 175–180.
58.
ZhangJ., & JinS. (1996). Determinants of suicide ideation: A comparison of Chinese and American college students. Adolescence, 31, 451–467.
59.
ZhaoS.QuG.PengZ., & PengT. (1994). The sex ratio of suicide rates in China. Crisis, 151, 44–48.
