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"Undecided" responses on the Suicide Opinion Questionnaire
1Psychology Program, The Richard Stockton College of New Jersey, P.O. Box 195, Jimmie Leeds Road, Pomona, NJ 08240-0195, USA. lesterd@stockton.edu
Psychological Reports
|March 27, 2009
Summary
The Domino's Suicide Opinion Questionnaire's "undecided" responses correlate with death anxiety. Eliminating this option may improve the suicide assessment tool.
Area of Science:
- Psychological assessment
- Suicidology
- Mental health research
Background:
- The Domino's Suicide Opinion Questionnaire is used to assess attitudes towards suicide.
- Understanding response patterns is crucial for accurate psychological measurement.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the relationship between "undecided" responses on the Domino's Suicide Opinion Questionnaire and death anxiety.
- To explore potential improvements for the questionnaire.
Main Methods:
- Administered the Domino's Suicide Opinion Questionnaire to 288 students.
- Collected data on attitudes and personality traits.
- Analyzed the association between "undecided" responses and death anxiety scores.
Main Results:
- A positive association was found between the number of "undecided" responses and death anxiety scores.
- This suggests "undecided" responses may indicate underlying death anxiety.
Conclusions:
- The "undecided" response option in the Domino's Suicide Opinion Questionnaire may be linked to death anxiety.
- Consideration should be given to removing the "undecided" option to enhance the questionnaire's validity.
- Further research is warranted to explore the meaning of "undecided" responses in suicide assessment.
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