A Comparative Study of Attitudes About Suicide between the United States and Thailand

Abstract

Death by suicide is a prominent and concerning issue worldwide. Factors contributing to suicide risk include the complex interaction of socio-cultural variables, as well as psychiatric disorders, that may occur during periods of socioeconomic or family hardship, and/or personal turbulence. The proposed empirical study/grant proposal will empirically compare attitudes about suicide between two representative countries: Thailand and the United States, A sample size of 385 undergraduate students from both George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia and Srimahasarakham Nursing College, Mahasarakham and Mahidol University in Bangkok, Thailand will be recruited to complete an online survey including the Scale of Public Attitudes about Suicide (SPAS). Given the notable differences between the United States and Thailand in terms of culture, religious beliefs, values, and cognitive styles, this research will explore how attitudes about suicide differ between countries representing diverse social landscapes. Findings from this research may help to inform the application of different approaches to preventing suicide within different cultures.