How and why?: Perceptions of people with terminal illnesses’ suicides as a function of suicide method and motive

Introduction: We quantitatively assessed how third-person perceptions of people with terminal illnesses’ suicides vary as a function of situational factors related to the suicide as well as participants’ individual differences. Method: Vignettes were used in between-groups designs to manipulate a target person’s suicide method (Study 1) and primary motive (Study 2). Results: On average, participants reported generally favorable attitudes toward this phenomenon across studies. In Study 1, medical methods (e.g., physician-assisted death) were perceived more favorably than traditional methods (e.g., hanging), but minimal differences in perceptions emerged across various suicide motives (e.g., mental health concerns, wanting control over death) in Study 2. Masculine Honor Beliefs were positively associated with stigmatizing attitudes toward the target. Self-directed and other-directed Fear of Death yielded contradictory effects. Suicide acceptability was consistently positively associated with favorable attitudes toward this phenomenon. Discussion: Overall, this program of research has important implications for understanding nuances in third-person perceptions of this phenomenon as a function of relevant situational factors (e.g., method, motive) and individual differences, while advancing suicide theories to be more comprehensive and inclusive of physical health.