Personality, spirituality, suicide, and self-injury proneness among lesbian, gay, and bisexual adults

Abstract

The present study sought to clarify gaps in current knowledge integrating personality, spirituality, and risk for suicide/self-harm among sample of 336 lesbian, gay, and bisexual community members. It was hypothesised that Neuroticism would positively predict, and Extraversion and Agreeableness would negatively predict, measures of suicide and self-injury proneness. Additionally, it was predicted that spirituality, defined as Spiritual Life Integration (SLI) and Social Justice Commitment, would interact with personality traits to attenuate risk for suicide and self-injury. Results supported the role of Neuroticism, and identified an unexpected predictor of Conscientiousness, at the main effect level. Moderation patterns were observed such that Agreeableness and Extraversion interacted with SLI to attenuate risk, such that high levels of each trait and high levels of spirituality were protective against suicide and self-injury proneness. Theoretical and practical implications with emphasis on counselling intervention implementation and future research are discussed.

Keywords:

• suicide
• self-injury
• physical unhealthiness
• lesbian
• gay
• and bisexual (LGB)
• personality
• Five-Factor Model
• spirituality

Acknowledgements

This project was conducted as the doctoral dissertation of the primary author.

Notes

1 One previous publication concerning suicide proneness has come from this data, but employed a different suicide-related criterion and no overlapping analyses (see Cramer, Stroud, Fraser, & Graham, 2014). Additional procedural details are available in that article as well.

2 Exact categorical self-labels are available from the first author upon request.

3 Only significant findings are reported. Full statistical results available upon request.

4 Full multicollinearity diagnostics for all predictors are available upon request.

Additional information

Funding

The project is the result of a generous American Psychological Foundation Wayne F. Placek Grant bestowed to the second and first authors.