A Study About The Effect Of Mortality Salience On Suicide Idaetion Of College Students

Based on Terror Management theory, the Interpersonal Theory of Suicide, Implicit Social Cognitive theory, the study explores the relationship between death and suicide ideation by designing two experiments which depend on three key points of different mortality salience paradigm individual difference on suicidal ideation and the meaning of life, and using the experimental group of college students. Study 1 explored the effect of different mortality salience paradigm to suicide ideation and the culture validation of mortality salience effect by using single factor experimental design group. The results showed that Experiment groups were no significant on the explicit suicide ideation and cultural worldview defense,but were significant on the implicit suicide ideation(F=3.33, P<0.05).The IAT effect value D of self-determined death reminder group was significantly higher than control group and death reflection group.The typical death reminder group was significantly higher than death reflection group.Study 2 discussed the interaction effect between mortality salience and the meaning of life made to suicide ideation by using multi-factor experimental design group. The results suggest that there was main effect of individual difference of suicide ideation on explicit suicide ideation (F=25.55, P<0.01).and interaction effect between mortality salience and the meaning of life on implicit suicide ideation(F=5.97,.P<0.01).The experimental results made us draw this conclusions:(1) under the China cultural background, neither typical mortality salience appears cultural worldview defense effect, nor does the self-determination of death reminders and death introspection. (2) Unconscious distal defense induced by mortality salience can reduce the connection between self and death, and the self-determination of death reminders is the most effective way. (3) The death anxiety in proximal defense induced by mortality salience cannot reduce the existing explicit suicide ideation. (4) In the one hand, the meaning of life can effectively promote the connection between self and survival, and reduce the connection between self and death, thus reduce the implicit suicide ideation. In the other hand, it can’t reduce the explicit suicide ideation. (5) The reduction effects mortality salience and the meaning of life make to implicit suicide ideation may partially offset each other, and show no difference compared with single condition of mortality salience or the prime of meaning in life.This study can extent the research of the theory of suicide and terror management theory; provide new research ideas for suicide prevention; conducive to the development and the management of public health undertakings.