Suicide Attempts of Muslims Compared With Other Religious Groups in the US

Abstract

Suicide is one of the leading causes of death and has steadily increased throughout the past 2 decades. 1 Religious affiliation may be associated with a lower risk for both suicide attempt and death through multiple mechanisms, including the promotion of social support, personal empowerment, healthy lifestyle, and commitment to religious life-preserving morals. 2 In the US, Muslim individuals represent a religious minority group who are vulnerable to religious discrimination but may access mental health services more infrequently than other groups. We compare the prevalence of suicide attempts among Muslim adults compared with adults of other faith communities in the US. Methods | Participants completed the 2019 Institute for SocialPolicy and Understanding national community-based survey 3 conducted over landline, cell phone, and online by Social Science Research Solutions during January 2019. Muslim and Jewish participants were oversampled, and other religious groups were weighted to provide nationally representative and projectable estimates of the US adult population 18 years and older. The eMethods in the Supplement include a description of sample design, survey administration, and weighting procedures. The Stanford University institutional review board exempted the study from ethical review because it was an analysis of deidentified poll data.Participant demographics were collected using selfreported items. Participants were asked to self-identify their religion from the following categories: agnostic, atheist, Buddhist, Catholic, Christian, do not know, Hindu, Jewish, Mormon, Muslim, no religion, Orthodox, Protestant, something else, or Unitarian (Universalist). Participants were also asked to self-identify their race and ethnicity using the following categories: African American, Arab, Asian/Chinese/ Japanese/Indian/Pakistani, Native American/American Indian/ Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander, mixed, Hispanic, White, or other. Lifetime suicide attempt was assessed with a question adapted from the Columbia-Suicide Severity Rating Scale: "Have you ever tried to do anything to try to kill yourself or make yourself not alive anymore?" 4 Descriptive statistics and cross-tabulations were used to categorize and compare the frequency of the chosen study characteristics of participants. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed using Stata version 15 (StataCorp) to calculate unadjusted and adjusted odds ratios. Demographic factors were coded as categorical variables in the adjusted analyses. Individuals who refused to identify with a religious group or other demographic variable were coded as missing and excluded. Two-sided P values were statistically significant at .05. Analysis took place from March to December 2020.

An Integrative Review of Community-Based Mental Health Interventions Among Resettled Refugees from Muslim-Majority Countries

“…Muslim groups in the U.S. represent a religious minority vulnerable to discrimination that may exacerbate pre- and post-migration-related stressors (Alemi & Stempel, 2018 ). This has significant implications for second-generation refugees and immigrants that identify as Muslim in the U.S. A recent study examining suicide attempts of Muslims compared to other religious groups in the US found that Muslims were 2.18 (95% CI 1.13–4.20; P < .05) times more likely to report a lifetime suicide attempt compared with Protestants (Awaad et al, 2021 ). This supports prior calls by leading migrant experts worldwide to address discrimination at the health system level as a priority in policy development (Pottie et al, 2017 ).…”

Validation and test–retest reliability of the Spiritual Bypass Scale in Muslims and implications for psychological help-seeking attitudes and self-stigma.

“…Spiritual bypass is a phenomenon that occurs when individuals focus on R/S coping to avoid engagement with their inner psychological experiences (Welwood, 1984), ultimately bypassing professional and other forms of help-seeking and self-work (Fox et al, 2020). Spiritual bypass may be particularly relevant for Muslims living in the United States (MLUS), who avoid psychological help despite facing a mental health crisis, evidenced by increasing levels of discrimination (Federal Bureau of Investigation [FBI], 2020), poorer mental health relative to their non-Muslim counterparts (Amer & Hovey, 2012; Awaad et al, 2021), and being twice as likely as those of other faith groups to report past suicide attempts (Awaad et al, 2021). There is a crucial need to examine the effects of spiritual bypass in MLUS.…”

A mixed-methods approach to psychological help-seeking in Muslims: Islamophobia, self-stigma, and therapeutic preferences.

“…Discussion MLUS face increased rates of discrimination (Samari et al, 2018), depression (Amer & Hovey, 2012), and suicide (Awaad et al, 2021), yet are less likely to seek mental health care (Aloud & Rathur, 2009;Khan, 2006). Some (e.g., Khan et al, 2019) have suggested that Islamophobia is impacting MLUS' attitudes toward seeking and using formal mental health services, and that therapy needs to be better catered to MLUS needs.…”

“…Relatedly, some studies suggest that MLUS experience poorer mental health relative to their non-Muslim counterparts. For example, Arab MLUS have shown higher rates of depression and anxiety compared to other minority groups (Amer & Hovey, 2012), and MLUS also reported higher rates of suicide attempts compared to those of other faith groups, as well as atheists and agnostics (Awaad et al, 2021).…”