Citation

Boyd KA, Chung H. Soc. Sci. Res. 2012; 41(6): 1565-1580.

Affiliation

Department of Criminal Justice, Graduate Center, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, City University of New York, 524 West 59th Street, New York, NY 10019, USA. Electronic address: kboyd@jjay.cuny.edu.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2012, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.ssresearch.2012.07.001

PMID

23017974

Abstract

This study evaluates the role that religious and cultural values have on individual opinions toward suicide worldwide. Using multilevel modeling with data from the fourth wave of the World Values Survey (42,299 individuals in 43 countries), the current study is designed to analyze the effect of individual (i.e., micro-level), and country (i.e., macro-level) characteristics on opinions toward suicide. Specifically, cultural values, religious affiliation, religious importance, and church attendance are analyzed at both the individual and country levels to evaluate the impact of individual and country level effects on opinions toward suicide. The results show that individual opinions toward suicide are influenced by individual belief as well as by the cultural and religious characteristics of their country. The results suggest that evaluation of individual opinions toward controversial behavior should account for the unique and cross-interaction effects of micro- and macro-level effects.

Language: en