All aspects of religiosity, spirituality, and the search for meaning are related to suicidality in people with a psychiatric diagnosis or a recent suicide attempt, according to a systematic review and meta-analysis published in Harvard Review of Psychiatrypart of Wolters Kluwer’s Lippincott portfolio.
“The protective dimensions seemed to exert relatively stable effects in different religions and visions of life,” the doctor reports. Bart van den Brinkfrom the Department of Emergency Psychiatry, GGz Centraal, Amersfoort, The Netherlands, and colleagues. “For example, moral objections to suicide protected against suicidality for both Buddhists and Christians,” they say.
A large global meta-analysis examined multiple dimensions of R/S/M
The researchers identified 108 studies published in English that quantitatively analyzed the relationships between religiosity and suicidal behavior. The studies reported on 30,610 subjects with a mean age of 30 years. Two studies included subjects from around the world, while 40 were conducted in North America, 30 in Europe, and 29 in Asia. Three regions that are very diverse, spiritually and religiously, were notably underrepresented: Africa (0 studies), Australia/Oceania (1 study), and South America (6 studies, all from Brazil).
The variables (religiosity, spirituality, and search for meaning, dubbed R/S/M) were categorized into four dimensions. First of all, the belongingsuch as affiliation with a religious or spiritual group and its strength. Afterwards, the behavior. For example, moral objections to suicide, religious salience (how important religion is in an individual’s life and how committed they are to their beliefs), attendance at religious services, participation in a religious or spiritual organization, and prayer. On the other hand, the belief and meaning, that is, a sense of meaning or purpose in life and trust in a higher power. And finally, the links: spiritual and religious well-being, religious coping, concept of god and religious/spiritual experiences.
the R/S/M variables had a protective effect small but significant general against suicidality. The team used 231 effect sizes from 75 of the 108 studies, representing 17,561 subjects, in a meta-analysis of the direct impact of R/S/M on suicidal behavior. Christianity was the most common religious affiliation in the study samples (62%). Atheism/agnosticism, Hinduism, Islam, and Judaism were the most common in only 1.3% to 3.4% of the samples.
