Abstract
Examining whether South Korean and Japanese views of suicide and death help to better understand their contrasting suicide patterns
Feigelman, W., Kawashima, D., Koga, Y., Kawano, K., & Cerel, J.
Based on two independent surveys of South Korean (n=1,599) and Japanese adults (n=1,490) views of suicide and death this analysis found South Koreans more stress-prone and more accepting of suicide than the Japanese, patterns convergent with their overall differences in societal suicide rates. Multiple regression analysis findings suggested that a substantial proportion of the variations in stress differences between all respondents were accounted for by three variables: country differences, depression and satisfaction with one’s financial status; this finding suggests that South Koreans’ diverging views of suicide and death may add to their overall levels of experienced stress.