Attitudes toward Death of Np Patients Who Have Attempted Suicide

Abstract

It was hypothesized that individuals who have attempted suicide would have more inconsistent attitudes toward death than would persons who had not attempted suicide. An attitude toward death scale was devised and administered to 20 NP patients who had attempted suicide, to 20 NP patients who had not, and to 40 upper-class and graduate university students. Positive, inconsistent, and negative categories were defined in terms of score ranges on the scale. By X² test proportionately more of the suicidal group than of the other two fell in the inconsistent category. Scores of both psychiatric groups were distributed differently from those of the normal group and also from each other.