College Students’ Hypothetical Responses to Suicidal Individuals who are HIV Positive, Substance Abusing, Depressed, or Anxious

To see if specific circumstances encourage or discourage helpful responses to suicide threats, 141 undergraduates read a 1-paragraph vignette abaout a suicidal person with either AIDS, depression, drug abuse, anxiety, or adjustment problems. Students then wrote 5 responses, which on average were mildly unhelpful regardless of circumstance. Results suggests that, for suicidal persons, revealing life circumstances fails to engender increased empathy in college students. (15 refs.)