Religiosity, Attributional Style, and Social Support as Psychosocial Buffers for African American and White Adolescents’ Perceived Risk for Suicide

Psychosocial buffers were evaluated for their relative contributions to adolescents’ perceived risk for suicide. African American & White adolescents rated the likelihood that they would die by suicide & were measured for standardised buffers. Orthodoxy – commitment to core beliefs – emerged as the single strongest correlate after controlling for the effects of other buffers. The effect of depression on perceived suicide risk was moderated by the adolescent’s degree of orthodoxy. (53 refs)