Religion and Suicide: Integrating Four Theories Cross‐Nationally

Stack, Steven; Kposowa, Augustine J.

doi:10.1002/9781119998556.ch14

Cited by 14 publications

(14 citation statements)

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“…Systematic reviews of the literature, and general population studies, find strong evidence regarding the protective role of many aspects of religiosity against suicide. About three-quarters of the studies published to-date, including studies in Western (predominantly Christian) and in Middle Eastern (predominantly Muslim) countries, have reported significant inverse relationships between at least one aspect of religion and at least one dimension of suicidality Stack and Kposowa 2011). A meta-analysis of international studies, including case-control and retrospective cohorts, found an overall protective effect of religiosity against suicide (Wu et al 2015).…”

Section: Religiosity and Suicidalitymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Research and clinical evidence have suggested that religiosity can be linked to a lower risk of suicidal ideation, suicide attempts, and completed suicide (Moreira-Almeida et al 2006). A number of theories and models have been proposed to explain the salutary effect of religious and spiritual beliefs, behaviors, and social networks, including the social networks created by involvement in religious activities (which increase social integration) and the hope created by religious beliefs (such as a belief in an afterlife) (Stack and Kposowa 2011). Systematic reviews of the literature, and general population studies, find strong evidence regarding the protective role of many aspects of religiosity against suicide.…”

Section: Religiosity and Suicidalitymentioning

confidence: 99%

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Does Religiosity Predict Suicidal Behavior?

Lester

2017

Religions

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Research was reviewed on whether self-report measures of religiosity were a protective factor against suicidal behaviors. It was found that scores on Francis's measure of religiosity was negatively associated with non-lethal suicidal behavior (ideation and attempts), a protective effect. Similarly, it was found that intrinsic religiosity (but not extrinsic religiosity) was negatively associated with non-lethal suicidal behaviors. However, these associations were weak. Research is needed on the issue whether counselors can use their patients' religiosity to reduce the risk of dying by suicide. Keywords: religiosity; suicidal ideation; attempted suicideThe association of religion and suicide has long been of interest. Durkheim (1897) noted and tried to explain the fact that Protestants have higher suicide rates than Roman Catholics, while it has long been known that Muslims have lower suicide rates than Christians (Lester 2006). There has been a great deal of research and theorizing about the role of religion, religiosity, and spirituality in increasing the risk of suicidal behavior versus acting as a protective factor for suicidal behavior. 1 In a meta-analysis of nine studies, Wu et al. (2015) found significant protective effects of religion (as measured by church/temple attendance or claiming/practicing a religion) on completed suicide. This effect was found to be stronger in studies conducted in Western cultures, in areas with high religious homogeneity, and among older populations. Sisask et al. (2010) also reported cross-cultural differences in the protective effects of three dimensions of religiosity (religious denomination, subjective religiosity, and organizational religiosity) for attempted suicide. The strongest protective effect across the different study sites, such as Brazil, Estonia, the Islamic Republic of Iran, and Sri Lanka, was found for subjective religiosity, that is, considering oneself to be a religious person, while the results for the more objective indicators of religiosity were mixed. The present chapter focuses on the association between religiosity and suicidal behavior in individuals. Since the research on this association involves self-report questionnaires, 2 the suicidal behavior is limited to suicidal ideation and, occasionally attempted suicide. Furthermore, we will focus more on our own research, but not to the exclusion of the research of others.

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Section: Religiosity and Suicidalitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Religiosity and Suicidalitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Does Religiosity Predict Suicidal Behavior?

Lester

2017

Religions

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“…Religion and spirituality are recognized as potentially protective factors against suicidal ideation (SI) and behaviour. About three quarters of studies published to-date reported a significant inverse relationship between at least one aspect of religion and at least one dimension of suicidality (Koenig et al 2012;Stack and Kposowa 2011). A recent meta-analysis, including case-control and retrospective cohorts, found an overall protective effect of religiosity against suicide (Wu et al 2015), and attendance at religious services was found to be protective against suicide in two major US-based general population studies (Kleiman and Liu 2014;Nisbet et al 2000).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A recent meta-analysis, including case-control and retrospective cohorts, found an overall protective effect of religiosity against suicide (Wu et al 2015), and attendance at religious services was found to be protective against suicide in two major US-based general population studies (Kleiman and Liu 2014;Nisbet et al 2000). The salutary effect of religion and spirituality may be related to the protective effect of religious social networks and social support and/or hope, against stressful life events created by religious beliefs, such as a belief in an afterlife (Lawrence et al 2016a;Stack and Kposowa 2011).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Does Religion/Spirituality Modify the Association of Stressful Life Events and Suicidal Ideation in Australian Men?

et al. 2018

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In a large population cohort of Australian men, we previously observed that stressful life events were associated with increased suicidal ideation (SI). Many stressful life events, such as relationship breakdown and financial difficulties, occur frequently, yet most men who experience them do not have suicidal thoughts. There is some evidence that religious belief may be protective against suicidal behaviour. This study examined if attendance of religious service and/or perceived importance of religion/spirituality to participants modifies the association between stressful life events and suicidal thinking. Our analysis included 10,588 men who were aged 18 years or older who participated in the Australian Longitudinal Study on Male Health (Ten to Men), a national cohort study of Australian males. The study compared demographic, protective and risk factors for four subgroups: No SI, Remitted SI, New SI, and Chronic SI between Wave 1 (October 2013 to July 2014) and Wave 2 (November 2015 to May 2016) of the study and conducted logistic regression for these four outcomes. The study found a protective effect for attendance of religious services for the onset of New SI at Wave 2. Importance of religion/spirituality was positively related to Chronic SI. There were no effects of service attendance or importance for any of the other SI outcomes. We discuss results of the study in relation to social connection and broader contextual factors, such as secularization.

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“…A systematic review of research studies on religion and suicide over the last 10 years revealed that religion is a protective factor against suicidality, especially against suicide attempts and suicide (Lawrence et al 2016). Research indicates that religion may inhibit a person from acting on suicidal ideas and reduce suicide risk by shaping a person's beliefs about suicide, creating access to a supportive community and providing hope and meaning to suffering (Dervic et al 2006;Knizek et al 2010Knizek et al -2011Stack and Kposowa 2011;Lawrence et al 2016).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Why Are Suicides So Widespread in Catholic Lithuania?

Gailienė

2018

Religions

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Religion as a protective factor against suicide was introduced in Durkheim's theory of suicide and analysed from various perspectives in multiple studies. The Lithuanian case is intriguing because before WWII, along with Catholic Poland, it showed much lower suicide rates than its Protestant neighbours Latvia and Estonia. However, today Lithuania is among the leading countries in terms of the prevalence of suicide. Interestingly, not much has changed in Lithuania in terms of religious denomination-about 80% of population call themselves Catholic. The aim of this article was to explore which factors might have affected religions' protective function against suicide during radical historical processes. The method of study consists of an analysis of historical sources, and of recent studies in suicidology and sociology of religion about suicide and religion in Lithuania. The results of this analysis show that two factors seem to be most important-heroicizing resistance suicides and experiencing long-term politics of atheisation.

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Religion and Suicide: Integrating Four Theories Cross‐Nationally

Cited by 14 publications

References 70 publications

Does Religiosity Predict Suicidal Behavior?

Does Religiosity Predict Suicidal Behavior?

Does Religion/Spirituality Modify the Association of Stressful Life Events and Suicidal Ideation in Australian Men?

Why Are Suicides So Widespread in Catholic Lithuania?

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