Impact of spirituality and religiosity on suicidal risk among a sample of lebanese psychiatric in-patients

Abstract

Objectives

To evaluate the prevalence of suicidality among the psychiatric inpatients community in Lebanon, and to elucidate the effect of religiosity and spirituality on suicidal thoughts or behaviours.

Methods

A total sample of 159 patient consecutively admitted to a psychiatric hospital was interviewed. The Ask Suicide-screening Questionnaire (ASQ) was used to assess suicidal risk; the Mature Religiosity Scale (MRS) and the Spirituality Index for Well Being (SIWB) scales were used to assess religiosity and spirituality.

Results

We found that 45.6% of the participants screened positively on the ASQ, including 37.5% with acute suicidal ideation. A backward logistic regression, taking the negative/positive screening ASQ as the dependent variable, showed that a positive family history of suicide and depression were significantly associated with higher positive suicidal screening, whereas higher spirituality was significantly associated with lower positive suicidal screening. When forcing the mature religiosity scale as an independent variable, the results remained the same.

Conclusion

Spiritual well-being might be considered an important factor to explore among psychiatric patients. Psychiatric inpatients have a high risk for suicide; the challenge remains for clinicians to identify upon admission patients that are most likely to die from suicide.

Key points

• A positive family history of suicide and depression was significantly associated with higher suicidality.

• Higher spirituality, but not religiosity, was significantly associated with lower suicidality.

• Spiritual well-being might be considered an important factor to explore among psychiatric patients.

• The challenge remains for clinicians to identify patients that are most likely to die from suicide upon admission.

Keywords:

• Suicide
• suicidal thoughts
• risk factor
• spirituality
• religiosity

Acknowledgements

The authors thank as well all patients who agreed to participate in these studies.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data availability statement

All data generated or analysed during this study are not publicly available to maintain the privacy of the individuals’ identities. The dataset supporting the conclusions is available upon request to the corresponding author.

Author contributions

MK was responsible for the data collection and entry. FK designed the study. MK drafted the manuscript; SH and CH carried out the analysis and interpreted the results; SH assisted in drafting and reviewing the manuscript; All authors reviewed the final manuscript and gave their consent.