Cross-cultural attitudes towards suicide: the SOQ and a personal odyssey.

The Suicide Opinion Questionnaire (SOQ) has been used in many studies to assess cross-cultural attitudes towards suicide; these include studies in countries such as the USA, Canada, Japan, Germany, Singapore, to name a few. These studies suggest not only that the SOQ is applicable to various cultures, but also suggest that there is diversity in attitudes worldwide. Yet, there are problems (e.g., psychometric properties), but despite such limitations, further research with the SOQ is warranted. This paper reviews the development of the SOQ and its application to cross-cultural contexts.