Effects of context on perceptions of the language of suicide

Objective. There is concern regarding use of the phrase ‘committed suicide’, given its connotations of immorality. Limited research has examined influences on people’s use of this phrase. The current studies examined whether portraying a suicide as highly immoral affects perceptions of the phrase ‘committed suicide’. Method. Undergraduate participants in western Canada read a suicide vignette in which the suicide was depicted either neutrally or as sinful (Study 1, N = 188) or as either altruistic or vengeful (Study 2, N = 204). They then judged, from the perspective of the deceased person’s family, the preference for statements employing ‘committed suicide’ or ‘died by suicide’ (Study 1) or the acceptability of statements employing ‘committed suicide’, ‘ended her[his] life’, ‘took her[his] own life’, or ‘died by suicide’ (Study 2). Results. In Study 1, ‘committed suicide’ statements received higher preference judgments for the scenario depicted as sinful. In Study 2, phrases alternative to ‘committed suicide’ received higher acceptability ratings for the altruistic scenario. Discussion. We consider limitations of our work, directions for future research on the language of suicide, and implications of our findings.