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Is religiosity a protective factor against attempted suicide: a cross-cultural case-control study
Merike Sisask1, Airi Varnik, Kairi Kolves
1Estonian-Swedish Mental Health and Suicidology Institute, Tallinn, Estonia. merike.sisask@neti.ee
Summary
Religiosity may protect against suicide attempts. Subjective religiosity, identifying as religious, showed protective effects in several cultures, but not all.
Area of Science:
- Cross-cultural psychology
- Mental health research
- Sociology of religion
Background:
- Suicide remains a significant global public health issue.
- Understanding protective factors against suicidal behavior is crucial.
- Religiosity's role in mental health varies across cultures.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the cross-cultural protective effects of religiosity against attempted suicide.
- To examine three dimensions of religiosity: religious denomination, subjective religiosity, and organizational religiosity.
- To identify cultural variations in the relationship between religiosity and suicidal behavior.
Main Methods:
- Cross-cultural comparative study design.
- Inclusion of community controls (n=5484) and suicide attempters (n=2819).
- Assessment of religiosity across three dimensions: religious denomination, subjective religiosity, and organizational religiosity.
Main Results:
- Religious denomination and subjective religiosity were protective in Brazil, Estonia, Iran, and Sri Lanka.
- South Africa showed an exceptional protective effect for both dimensions.
- No significant effects were found in India and Vietnam; organizational religiosity yielded mixed results.
Conclusions:
- Subjective religiosity, identifying as a religious person, may be a protective factor against non-fatal suicidal behavior in specific cultural contexts.
- The protective effect of religiosity against attempted suicide is culturally dependent.
- Further research is needed to understand the complex interplay between religiosity, culture, and suicidal behavior.
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