This study compared the lay theories of suicide held by Turkish & American respondents. Measures of attitudes toward suicide & of personality variables were administered to 330 Turkish undergraduates & 419 American undergraduates. Turkish students saw interpersonal factors as less important & societal factors as more important in causing suicide as compared to the American students, & they also reported more stigma toward attempted suicides. Personality correlates of these attitudes were similar in the 2 groups. The similarities between the 2 groups of respondents in their theories of suicide outweighed the differences. (25 refs.) JA