Influence of Spiritual Dimensions on Suicide Risk: The Role of Regional Differences

Abstract

The field of suicide prevention has been enriched by research on the association between spirituality and suicide. Many authors have suggested focusing on the various dimensions of religiosity in order to better understand the association between religion and suicidal risk, but it is unclear whether the relationship between spirituality and suicidality differs between countries with different cultures, life values, and sociohistorical experiences. To explore this, the aim of this multicenter study was to investigate the possible relationship between suicide and spirituality in Italy and Austria. In the two countries, two different groups of subjects participated: psychiatric patients and university students. The patients were evaluated with the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview. In addition, the following measures were used: a sociodemographic questionnaire, the Columbia-Suicide Severity Rating Scale-B, the Symptom-Checklist-90-Standard, and the Multidimensional Inventory for Religious/Spiritual Well-Being. Our results confirmed the multifactorial nature of the relation between suicide risk and the various religious/spiritual dimensions, including religious/spiritual well-being and hope immanent. However, regional differences moderated this relationship in both the clinical and nonclinical samples.

Keywords:

• cultural differences
• psychiatric disorder
• spirituality
• suicide
• religion

Notes

1 The two self-reported categories, atheist and agnostic, composed the group of nonbelievers. The other three categories, deist, pantheist, and theist, composed the group of believers.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Stefan Stefa-Missagli

Stefan Stefa-Missagli, University Clinic for Psychiatry, Medical University, Graz, Austria.

Human-Friedrich Unterrainer

Human-Friedrich Unterrainer, Center of Integrative Addiction Research (CIAR), Gruner Kreis Society, Vienna, Austria; University Clinic for Psychiatry, Medical University Graz, Austria; Institute of Religious Studies, University of Vienna, Austria.

Giancarlo Giupponi

Giancarlo Giupponi, Clinic for Psychiatry, Südtiroler Sanitätsbetrieb, Bolzano, Italy.

Sandra-Johanna Wallner-Liebmann

Sandra-Johanna Wallner-Liebmann, Institute of Pathophysiology and Immunology, Medical University, Graz, Austria.

Hans-Peter Kapfhammer

Hans-Peter Kapfhammer, University Clinic for Psychiatry, Medical University, Graz, Austria.

Andreas Conca

Andreas Conca, Clinic for Psychiatry, Südtiroler Sanitätsbetrieb, Bolzano, Italy.

Michela Sarlo

Michela Sarlo, Department of General Psychology, University of Padova, Italy.

Isabella Berardelli

Isabella Berardelli, Department of Neurosciences, Mental Health and Sensory Organs, Suicide Prevention Center, Sant’Andrea Hospital, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy.

Salvatore Sarubbi

Salvatore Sarubbi, Department of Neurosciences, Mental Health and Sensory Organs, Suicide Prevention Center, Sant’Andrea Hospital, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy.

Karl Andriessen

Karl Andriessen, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, KU Leuven-University of Leuven, Belgium; Centre for Mental Health, School of Population and Global Health, The University of Melbourne, Parkville VIC 3010, Australia.

Karolina Krysinska

Karolina Krysinska, Centre for Primary Health Care and Equity, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, 2052; Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, KU Leuven-University of Leuven, Leuven, 3000, Belgium; Centre for Mental Health, School of Population and Global Health, The University of Melbourne, Parkville VIC 3010, Australia.

Denise Erbuto

Denise Erbuto, Department of Neurosciences, Mental Health and Sensory Organs, Suicide Prevention Center, Sant’Andrea Hospital, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy.

Heidrun Moujaes-Droescher

Heidrun Moujaes-Droescher, University Clinic for Psychiatry, Medical University, Graz, Austria.

David Lester

David Lester, Psychology Program, Stockton University, Galloway, New Jersey, USA.

Katrin Davok

Katrin Davok, Institute of Psychology, Karl-Franzens-University, Graz, Austria.

Maurizio Pompili

Maurizio Pompili, Department of Neurosciences, Mental Health and Sensory Organs, Suicide Prevention Center, Sant’Andrea Hospital, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy