CUP Undergraduate Research
Date of Award
Spring 4-1-2019
Document Type
Thesis
College
College of Arts & Sciences
Department
Psychology
Degree Name
Psychology, BA
First Advisor
Erin Mueller, Ph.D.
Abstract
The objective of this research was to replicate Hubbard and McIntosh’s 1992 study “Integrating Suicidology into Abnormal Psychology Classes: The Revised Facts on Suicide Quiz (RFOS)” with minor modifications. An updated version of the RFOS was utilized to determine the value of informative resources designed to enhance knowledge about suicide, as research on suicide-related knowledge is crucial to improving suicide awareness, treatment, and prevention. First year undergraduate students (N = 70) completed the quiz in the beginning of their Fall 2018 semester, then again at the end of their Fall 2018 semester. Mid-semester, students were given informative resources on the topic of suicide and prevention. This was meant to measure whether the updated RFOS paired with informative resources would increase suicide-related knowledge. The results produced from this study were analyzed using a paired-samples t test. The analyses showed a significant difference between participants’ pretest scores (M = 16.24, SD = 3.09) and posttest scores (M = 17.41, SD = 3.73) on the RFOS; t(69) = -2.36, p = 0.02. The effect size, as estimated by Cohen’s d, was .34. Participants demonstrated increased levels of suicide-related knowledge, thus providing support for the use of the updated RFOS with informative resources to increase suicide knowledge.