Accurately Imagining Suicide: Imagine-self, Imagine-person, Observer Instructions
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
9-1-1997
Department
Psychology
Abstract
To see if actor versus observer instructions influenced students' perceptions of social support during a suicidal crisis, 80 students completed social support, interpersonal reactivity, and suicidal behaviors questionnaires. In a yoked design, students who had been suicidal were matched with those who were instructed to imagine themselves being suicidal, to imagine that another person was suicidal, or to observe a person who was suicidal. Those who had been suicidal in the past (n = 20) were more suicidal than the other 3 groups (ns = 20). The suicidal group perceived high social support (belonging and appraisal), compared to the others, who perceived moderate support. Overall, nonsuicidal college students consistently underestimated their suicidal peer's social support, regardless of the instructions they were given.
Publication Title
Journal of Applied Social Psychology
Volume
27
Issue
17
First Page
1545
Last Page
1556
Recommended Citation
Knott, E. C.,
Range, L. M.
(1997). Accurately Imagining Suicide: Imagine-self, Imagine-person, Observer Instructions. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 27(17), 1545-1556.
Available at: https://aquila.usm.edu/fac_pubs/5433