RESUMEN

This study describes the prevalence of suicidal ideation and attempted suicide in a representative survey among adults in Denmark and gives the proportion of people reporting a suicide attempt that results in contact with the health care system. The data for the 1994 Danish national health interview survey were collected by personal interview and a self-administered questionnaire. A subsample of 1362 individuals participated in the part of the survey that addressed suicidal behaviour (64% of the random sample). The results show that 6.9% reported having had suicidal thoughts within the past year. Averaging across all age groups the overall prevalence of people reporting ever having made a suicide attempt was 3.4% and the one-year prevalence was 0.5%. Suicidal ideation was more prevalent among young people than among older people, whereas ever-attempted suicide showed no age gradient. Both suicidal ideation and ever-attempted suicide were more prevalent among economically inactive people (e.g. unemployed) and among unmarried or divorced people. We estimate that 50-60% of suicide attempts reported in a representative, national survey become known to the healthcare system.

Asunto(s)

RESUMEN

Prevalence estimates and prototype perceptions related to health risk behaviors were assessed in comparable samples of Danish and American adolescents (ages 13-15 years). Partly on the basis of observation and previous research, the assumption was made that the American sample would report more self-enhancement tendencies than would the Danish sample. Consistent with this assumption, which was supported by the data, 2 hypotheses were tested: (a) The Americans would overestimate the prevalence of the various risk behaviors (among their peers) more so than would the Danes and (b) those estimates would be more closely linked to their own risk behaviors for the American sample. Results supported both hypotheses; motivational explanations were proposed for both effects. In addition, perceptions of the prototypes associated with particular risk behaviors were assessed and were found to predict smoking behavior and willingness to engage in unprotected sexual intercourse for both samples. Implications for the study of adolescent risk behavior are discussed.

Asunto(s)

RESUMEN

This article describes the development and validation of the UCLA Multidimensional Condom Attitudes Scale (MCAS). The relationships between the MCAS and gender, sexual experience, intentions to use a condom, and past condom use were assessed. The MCAS has five distinct factors: (a) Reliability and Effectiveness of condoms, (b) the sexual Pleasure associated with condom use, (c) the stigma attached to persons who use condoms (Identity Stigma), (d) the Embarrassment About Negotiation and Use of condoms, and (e) the Embarrassment About the Purchase of condoms. The results strongly suggest that condom attitudes are multidimensional and thus cannot meaningfully be summed to a single global score. Results further indicate that men and women hold very different attitudes toward condoms. Implications of scale multidimensionality and directions for future research are discussed.

PIP: Psychology professors from the University of California conducted 3 studies to develop a multidimensional, multiple-indicator condom attitudes scale that would include items drawing upon several independent determinants of condom use. These studies would help them correlate 5 factors of the UCLA Multidimensional Condom Attitudes Scale (MCAS) with other criterion variables to establish the construct validity for each factor in the scale. The first study involved 239 male and female 15-35 year old undergraduate students who completed a 15-page, 187-item questionnaire. The professors used these data to develop 5 domains in the MCAS and to correlate the MCAS with relevant criterion variables. The 5 domains of the MCAS were reliability and effectiveness of condoms, sexual pleasure associated with condom use, stigma attached to persons who use condoms, embarrassment about negotiation and use of condoms, and embarrassment about purchase of condoms. 181 undergraduate students, 18-30 years old, completed a modified questionnaire an item added to improve the identity stigma factor) so the researchers could cross-validate MCAS' domains by means of factor analysis (study 2). Study 3 involved 426 undergraduate students whose data the researchers analyzed to test the 5-factor structure against a 1-factor model, to replicate the factor structure using methods of confirmatory factor analysis in structural equations modeling, and to confirm that the reliability and effectiveness domain included reliability and effectiveness as protection against AIDS, other STDs, and pregnancy. Men were not as embarrassed about buying condoms as women, while women had a more positive attitude towards identity stigma-related issues. Overall, men's and women's attitudes towards condoms were different. The studies' results show that condom attitudes are indeed multidimensional, and that the MCAS goes beyond individual decision making to include the social, interpersonal determinants of sexual behavior.

Asunto(s)