Dimensions of Religion Associated with Suicide Attempt and Ideation: A 15-Month Prospective Study in a Dutch Psychiatric Population

Dimensions of religion contribute in different ways to the in general protective effect of religiosity and spirituality (R/S) against suicidality. Few studies have included a substantial number of dimensions, and even fewer a follow-up, to clarify the stability and contribution of R/S over the course of psychopathology. In this follow-up study among 155 religiously affiliated in- and outpatients with major depression, religious service attendance, frequency of prayer, type of God representation, moral objections to suicide, and social support were re-assessed in 59 subjects. Diverse statistica... Mehr ...

Verfasser: Bart van den Brink
Matthias Jongkind
Ralph C. A. Rippe
Nathan van der Velde
Arjan W. Braam
Hanneke Schaap-Jonker
Dokumenttyp: Artikel
Erscheinungsdatum: 2023
Reihe/Periodikum: Religions, Vol 14, Iss 4, p 442 (2023)
Verlag/Hrsg.: MDPI AG
Schlagwörter: depression / suicidal ideation / religion / God representation / moral objections to suicide / prayer / Religions. Mythology. Rationalism / BL1-2790
Sprache: Englisch
Permalink: https://search.fid-benelux.de/Record/base-28986060
Datenquelle: BASE; Originalkatalog
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Link(s) : https://doi.org/10.3390/rel14040442

Dimensions of religion contribute in different ways to the in general protective effect of religiosity and spirituality (R/S) against suicidality. Few studies have included a substantial number of dimensions, and even fewer a follow-up, to clarify the stability and contribution of R/S over the course of psychopathology. In this follow-up study among 155 religiously affiliated in- and outpatients with major depression, religious service attendance, frequency of prayer, type of God representation, moral objections to suicide, and social support were re-assessed in 59 subjects. Diverse statistical analyses show a partial change in R/S parameters. Supportive R/S is persistently associated with lower suicidality. R/S at T0 or change in R/S is not associated with additional changes in suicidality over time. The results suggest that the most important change in suicidality can be understood as an effect of a decline in depressive symptomatology, not of changes in R/S. Despite the limited follow-up and sample size, these results emphasize the importance of longitudinal and dynamic evaluation of especially affective and supportive aspects of R/S in suicidal persons.